0 !^ 



THE LIFE 

OF OUR 

BLESSED LORD AND SAVIOUR 



JESUS CHRIST: 

AND 

THE LIVES AND SUFFERINGS 



OF HIS 



HOLY APOSTLES AID EVANGELISTS, 



EEV. JOHN FLEETWOOD, D.D. 

n 

WITH AN fflTRODUCTION TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

THE LIVES AND LABOKS OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS AND MARTYES EROM THE 
CRUCIFIXION TO THE REFORMATION. 

A HISTORY OF THE JEWS, 

FROM THE EARLIRST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



A NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION, WITH NOTES 

BY KEY. J. NEWTON BEOWN, BJ).^^- 



EDITOR OF " ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, y 

>(> — ^ 




/ c PHILADELPHIA: 

BRADLEY & CO., 66 NORTH FOURTH STREET, 

ARDREY & GARRETSON, 

FOURTH AND BELTiE STREETS, ALTON, ILL. 

1868. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

BEAD LEY & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the ""^United States, in and 
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



S. A. GEORGE, 
STEREOTYPEB, ELECTROTYPER AND PRINTER, 
124 N. SEVENTH STREET. PHILABELPHIA. 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



In" preparing a new edition of this popular book, it was the 
desire of the Publishers to make it as perfect as possible for 
general use. They have spared no pains or expense for this 
purpose, believing that their efforts will be crowned with 
public approbation and success. Its typography, engravings, 
and general appearance, speak for themselves ; but the other 
improvements in this edition may justify a few words of 
explanation. 

The original edition of this work appeared in Glasgow, 
Scotland, in 1813, more than fifty years ago. Large and 
expensive as it was, it soon became a favorite with the Chris 
tian public, and several abridgments of it for more popular 
circulation were attempted by different hands, and executed 
with various measures of success. No one, however, either in 
England or in this country, it is believed, has done full justice 
to the Author, or given entire satisfaction to the public, as 
did, for example, Fawcett's abridgment of Baxter's Saint's 
Eest. Large omissions, extending in some instances to whole 
chapters of the original work, have been made in these, 
destroying the connection and completeness of the narrative ; 
apparently just to save the trouble of a careful condensation 
which should leave out nothing essential to the perfect Jjih 
of Christ. 

In this edition, the utmost care has been taken to restore the 
continuity of the narrative in the Author's own language. 
His general style is strong and noble, but frequently redun- 

(3) 



4 i^ditor's preface. 

dant, and in some parts would bear more retrenchment than has 
been here attempted. His spirit is candid, reverential and 
devout, and his doctrine decidedly evangelical. 

Some two hundred Notes have been prepared for this edition, 
chiefly original. Wherever selected, the name of the Author 
is always given. These Notes, like the work itself, are entirely 
unsectarian, and designed to throw new light on the times, 
places, and persons mentioned in the course of the narrative. 
A few are argumentative, chiefly confirmatory of the positions 
of the Author, but in some instances, corrective of his text, 
from the progressive knowledge of the age on the point in 
hand. 

In the Notes, as in the body of the work, the introduction 
of foreign languages have been avoided, as the appearance of 
thena is apt to prejudice the common reader. But the last and 
best results of modern criticism have been studiously sought out, 
and embodied in plain and popular English. It is hoped that 
the true scholar will find no reason to despise this course, 
although he should find little that to him is absolutely new. 
All men have not his helps or his attainments ; and thousands 
will be glad to find in a clear, brief Note, at the foot of the 
page, information which might, without such assistance, have 
been longed for and sought in vain. 

No notice whatever has been taken in the Notes of the 
modern theories of Strauss and Eenan — self- contradictory 
theories, tricked up for temporary efi'ect, in the forms of a vain 
philosophy, and a " science falsely so-called." They will have 
their little day, and then pass into contempt and oblivion ; but 
the word of the Lord, the life and doctrine of Jesus Christ, 
the Saviour of the World, will endure forever. 

J. .N. B. 



IISTTRODUCTIOE 



The life of our Lord and Saviour on earth comprises 
a series of events the most interesting and important 
that have ever taken place in the history of the world. 
They have exerted a more effective influence on the 
subsequent destinies of mankind than all the events of 
all precedent history; and they will exert a still 
stronger influence till time shall be no more. The hap- 
piness, both temperal and eternal, of every man living, 
or that ever will live, is connected with these events, 
and cannot fail to be varied according to the interest 
which he takes in them and the degree of influence 
which he permits them to exert on his own life and 
conduct. 

Under these circumstances, it is hardly possible for 
us to be too well informed concerning the events in the 
life of our Saviour. We read them in the Four Gospels 
from our childhood up, until our familiarity with the 
language in which they are written often causes us to 
overlook its sublime and inspired import. An honest 
and sincere effort to render the life of our Saviour more 

(5) 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

clear and intelligible to common readers^ by combining 
in a continuous narrative all its incidents as given in 
the Four Gospels, should therefore be received with 
public favor. Such has been pre-eminently the case 
with Fleetwood's Life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christj and the Lives and Sufferings of his Holy Apos- 
tles and Evangelists." This plain, unadorned narrative, 
written in that modest and unpretending style which 
the sacredness of the subject renders so peculiarly 
appropriate, has been received with a degree of 
public favor which is almost without a parallel. The 
Pilgrim's Progress" itself has been and is scarcely 
more popular. The public have recognized it as the 
book that was wanting; and, if we are right in oar 
estimate of its tendency, it must have rendered an 
incalculable amount of service to the cause of reli- 
gion. 

Real religion must advance in the world precisely in 
proportion as the true character of our Saviour and the 
true import of his mission on earth are understood. 
We should be ever anxious to learn more and more 
respecting these subjects. We should be ever striving 
to learn the truth. We should neglect no means of 
arriving at it. Having read the life of our Saviour by 
an uninspired writer, we see the events in a new point 
of view; and we instantly go back with increased 
interest to the inspired volume to verify by irrefragable 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

authority every word of what we have just read. This 
was doubtless the intention of the pious Fleetwood. 
His purpose was not to make men neglect the Gospels^ 
but to read them more and with greater interest than 
ever before. If we would know the truth, we should 
read the Gospels often, with humble prayer for enlight- 
enment, earnest desire for improvement, and sincere 
efforts at obedience to the words of our Saviour. His 
own declaration assures us that our knowledge of the 
truth will be always proportioned to our loving obe- 
dience to its dictates. The great use of an uninspired 
Life of our Saviour is to increase our interest in the 
subject, and to induce us to study the sacred records 
more diligently. 

The Lives of the Apostles and Evangelists, though far 
less important than that of the Saviour, are neverthe- 
less full of interest for every serious reader. Their 
labors, sufferings, and martyrdoms, connected as they 
are with the first days of gospel enlightenment to a be- 
nighted and perishing world, possess a value and an 
interest by no means to be found in any merely secular 
history ; and their noble example serves to strengthen 
the impression which we receive from the immaculate 
and perfect example of Him who spake as never man 
spake. 

The original work of Fleetwood is voluminous and 
somewhat costly. The present edition is condensed from 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

it ; but it is believed to retain all that is essential to its 
great purpose of public utility, while it is afibrded at 
a comparatively trifling cost. Such books should be 
brought within the reach of the humblest inquirer after 
religious truth. They cannot be too widely diffused. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEE T. 

Presage of the Birth of Christ — Prediction of the Birth of John the 
Baptist — Salutation of the Blessed Virgin by the Angel — Yisita- 



tion of the Yirgin Mary to Elizabeth — Birth of the Baptist 15 

CHAPTER II. 

General Decree for Taxation Published — Birth of Christ — Declara- 
tion of the same to Shepherds — Circumcision and Presentation of 
Christ in the Temple — The Wise Men of the East Worship the 
Holy Child — Flight of Joseph into Egypt — Massacre of Infants 
at Bethlehem — Death of Herod — Return of Joseph out of Egypt. . 31 



CHAPTER III. 

State of our Lord's Childhood and Private Life — His Interview with 
the Jewish Doctors — Mission,. Character, and Doctrine of the Bap- 



tist — Baptism of Christ, and Visible Descent of the Holy Spirit on 
that Solemnity 44 

CHAPTER IV. 

Commencement of our Saviour's Ministry — His Temptation in the 
Wilderness — Deputation of the Sanhedrin. to John the Baptist — 
First Miracle Wrought by the Blessed Jesus 53 

CHAPTER V. 

Expulsion of the Profaners of the Temple — Jesus Converses with 
Nicodemus — Baptizes in Judea — Instructs a Poor Samaritan — 
Heals a Sick Person at Capernaum — Retires again to Nazareth, 
and is Expelled thence by his Impious Countrymen 66 



CHAPTER VI. 

Our Lord Proceeds to Capernaum — Adds to the Number of his Fol- 
lowers — Proclaims the Gospel in Galilee — Preaches to a Numerous 
Audience his well-known and excellent Discourse upon the Mount. 87 

CHAPTER VII. 

Our Blessed Lord Cures the Leprosy and Palsy — Casts Out a Devil — 
Succors the Mother-in-law of Peter, and afterward Pursues his 
Journey through the Country of Galilee 105 

(9) 



10 



CONTENTS. 



OHAPTEE YIII. PASB 
Jesus Confirms his Mission by Producing a Miraculous Draught of 
Fishes — Curing the Leprosy a Second Time — Appeasing the Boist- 
erous Waves — Casting Devils out of divers Persons grievously 
Possessed Ill 



CHAPTER IX. 

Our Lord proceeds in Acts of Mercy and Benevolence — Adds Mat- 
thew to the Number of Disciples — Casts out an Evil Spirit — Passes 
again through Galilee — Selects Twelve from among his Disciples, 
as his Constant Followers and Companions, and Addresses the 
Multitude in an Excellent Discourse 119 



CHAPTER X. 

Continuation of our Lord's G-lorious Doctrines — Beneficent Acts 
and Astonishing Miracles wrought in Confirmation of the Divinity 
of his Mission, and the Extending of his Heavenly Kingdom 135 

CHAPTER XL 

The Character of John the Baptist Cleared and Justified by the 
Blessed Jesus — He Visits Simon, the Pharisee — Display of our 
Lord's Humility and Condescension 141 



CHAPTER XII. 

Miraculous Cure Effected at the Pool of Bethesda — Reproof of the 
Superstition of the Jews in Condemning the Performance of Ne- 
cessary Works on the Sabbath Day — After doing many Acts of 
Mercy and Wonder, our Blessed Lord is visited by his Mother and 
his Brethren, and makes a Spiritual Reflection on that Incident. . . 149 



CHAPTER XIIL 

Our Lord Delivers many Remarkable Parables, and Explains several 
of them — He Returns to Nazareth, and Commissions the Twelve 
Apostles, whom he had before Selected as his Constant Attendants 
and Followers, to Disperse and Preach the G-ospel of the Kingdom 
of God in divers Places — Circumstances of the Death of John the 
Baptist 161 



CHAPTER XIY. 

Our Lord adds to the Confirmation of his Mission and Doctrine by 
working a Miracle in the Wilderness of Bethsaida — The People, 
struck with the Power and Grace of the Blessed Jesus, propose to 
raise him to the Earthly Dignity of King — Peter, by Means of his 
Blessed Master, Performs a Miracle in Walking upon the Sea 173 



CHAPTER XY. 
Pharisaical Superstition severely Reprimanded — The Great Redeemer 
continues to Display his Power and Benevolence in the Relief of 
several Objects of Affliction — Guards his Disciples against the 
Prevailing Errors and Fallacies of the Scribes and Pharisees — 
Proceeds on the Works of his Heavenly Father 



CONTENTS. 



11 



CHAPTER XYI. PAQS 

The Blessed Jesus delegates a Special Power to Peter, as one of his 
Disciples — Pronounces the Final Judgment of the World, and is 
afterward Transfigured upon the Mount 195 



CHAPTER XYII. 

Our Saviour Relieves a Youth Tortured with a Dumb Spirit — Con- 
forms Cheerfully to the Custom of the Country, by Paying the 
Tribute — Reproves the Pride of his Disciples, and Delivers some 
Excellent Moral Precepts 203 



CHAPTER XYin. 

Our Blessed Lord quits Galilee Finally — He goes up Privately to 
Jerusalem — Addresses the Multitude at the Solemn Feast of Ta- 
bernacles — Exempts the Woman taken in Adultery from the Pun- 
ishment annexed by the Jews to that Crime — Escapes from the 
Snares laid for Him by the inveterate Scribes and Pharisees 212 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Our Lord continues to work Miracles in Confirmation of his Mis- 
sion and Doctrine — Calls forth and sends out Seventy Disciples — 
Preaches to the People of Judea, by way of Parable 232 



CHAPTER XX. 

The humble Jesus resides with Martha and Mary, two Obscure 
Women of Bethany — Improves a Circumstance which occurred at 
the Feast of Dedication — Prescribes a Mode of Prayer to his 
Disciples and future Followers — Rebukes some of the Pharisaical 
Tribe 243 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Explanation of the Origin and Opinions of the difi'erent Sects among 
the Jews — Our Lord teaches the Multitude by plain Discourse, 
and also by Parables 251 



CHAPTER XXIL 

The Blessed Jesus accepts the Pharisee's Invitation — Delivers divers 
Parables, representing the Requisites for Admittance into the 
Kingdom of God — the Care of the Redeemer for every one of his 
People — The Reception of a Penitent Sinner, and the Punishment 
of misusing the Benefits of the Gospel 269 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Jesus Rebukes the Insolent Derision of the Pharisees — Describes, by 
a Parable, the Nature of Future Rewards and Punishments, and 
Enforces the Doctrine of Mutual Forbearance 281 



CHAPTER XXIY. 



Our Lord is applied to in behalf of Sick Lazarus — Cures Ten Persons 
of the Leprosy in Perea, and restores Lazarus to Life 284 



12 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXY. p^sH 
The Great Prophet of Israel Foretells the Ruin of the Jewish State, 
and Enforces many Important Doctrines by Parable — He Blesseth 
the Children, as Emblems of the Heavenly and Christian Temper 
and Disposition 295 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

Our Lord Departs from his Retirement — Declares the only way of 
Salvation — Shows the duty of Improving the Means of Grace by 
the Parable of the Yineyard — Prediction of his Suffering, and 
Contention of the Disciples about Precedence in his Kingdom . . . 301 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

The Benevolent Saviour restores Sight to the Blind at Jericho — 
Kindly regards Zaccheus, the Publican — Delivers the Parable of 
the Servants entrusted with their Lord's Money — Accepts the 
kind offices of Mary — Makes a Public Entry into Jerusalem 307 



CHAPTER XXYIII. 

Jesus Pronounces a Curse upon the Fig Tree — Expels again the 
Profaners of the Temple — Asserts his Divine Authority, and De- 
livers two Parables 313 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Blessed Jesus wisely Retorts on the Pharisees and Herodians, 
who Propound an Intricate Question to Him — Settles the most 
Important Point of the Law — Enforces his Mission and Doctrine, 
and Foretells the Judgment that would Fall upon the Pharisaical 
Tribe 324 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Our Saviour commends even the Smallest Act proceeding from a 
truly Benevolent motive — Predicts the Demolition of the Magnifi- 
cent Temple of Jerusalem, and Delivers several Instructive Para- 
bles 334 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Our Blessed Lord is Anointed by a Poor but Pious Woman — The 
Perfidious Judas consents to Betray his Master — The humble Jesus 
Washes the Feet of his Disciples, and Foretells that Disciple who 
was to Betray him into the hands of his Inveterate Enemies 359 



CHAPTER XXXIL 

Jesus Institutes the Sacrament in Commemoration of his Death and 
Suffering — Settles a Dispute which arose among his Disciples — 
Predicts Peter's Cowardice in denying his Master — Fortifies his 
Disciples against the Approaching Shock — Foretells Peter's Cow- 
ardice again — Preaches to, and Prays with his Disciples for the 
Last Time — Agonizing Address of our Lord to his Father in the 
Garden 370 



CONTENTS. 



13 



CHAPTER XXXIIL page 

The Blessed Redeemer is taken by a Band of Soldiers at the Infor- 
mation of the Traitor Judas — Heals a Wound given the High- 
Priest's servant by Simon Peter — Fulfilment of our Lord's Predic- 
tion concerning Peter — The Saviour of the World is Arraigned at 
the Bar of the Sanhedrin, and tried by the Jewish Council 392 



CHAPTER XXXiy. 

Our Blessed Saviour is Carried before the Roman Governor — The 
Traitor Judas becomes his own Executioner — Pilate Publicly Ac- 
quits Jesus and Refers his Case to the Decision of Herod 406 



CHAPTER XXXY. 

The Roman Governor, for want of Evidence, proposes to Acquit and 
Release Jesus three several times ; but, at the Pressing Instiga- 
tion of the Jews, he Condemns and Delivers him up 415 



CHAPTER XXXYL 

The Innocent, Immaculate Redeemer is led forth to Mount Calvary 
and there Ignominiously Crucified between Two Malefactors — A 
Phenomenon Appears on the Important Occasion — Our Lord 
Addresses his Friends from the Cross, and gives up the Ghost 424 

CHAPTER XXXYIL 

The Blessed Jesus Treated with Indignity after his Crucifixion — A 
Pious Person Begs his Body from Pilate in order for Interment. . . 440 

CHAPTER XXXYIIL 

Two Pious Women go to Yiew the Sepulchre of their Crucified Lord 
and Saviour — An Awful Phenomenon Happens — A Ministering 
Spirit Descends — The Redeemer Bursts the Chain of Death and 
Rises from the Tomb 446 

^ CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Jesus Appears, on Divers occasions, to diSerent Disciples — Reproves 
and Convinces Thomas of his Unbelief — Shows himself to a great 
number of his Followers in Galilee 459 



CHAPTER XL. 

Our Blessed Lord Instructs his Disciples in what manner they 
should Conduct themselves in order to Propagate the Doctrines 
of the Gospel — Gives them his Final Blessing and Ascends into 
Heaven — General Review of the Life and Doctrines of the Great 
Redeemer 472 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Remarks on the Peculiar Nature of the Christian Religion, the Prin- 
ciples it Inculcates, and its Fitness to render men Holy and 
Humble here, and Happily Glorified hereafter 481 



14 



CONTENTS. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES AND EVANGELISTS. 



Page 

St. Peter 500 

St. Paul 523 

St. Andrew 555 

St. James the G-reat 561 

St. John the Evangelist 564 

St. Philip 568 

St, Bartholomew 571 

St. Matthew 574 

St. Thomas 576 

St. James the less 580 

St. Simon, the Zealot 583 



Page 

St. Jude 585 

St. Matthias 587 

St. Mark 588 

St. Luke 591 

Barnabas.... 594 

Stephen 601 

Timothy 603 

Titus 606 

John Mark 607 

Clement 609 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS AND MARTYRS, FROM 
THE FIRST CENTURY TO THE REFORMATION. 



Page 

Simeon 612 

Ignatius 615 



polycarp 

Justin Martyr. 

Iren^us 

Theophilus 

Athena GOR as. , . 



619 

......... 623 

625 

629 

630 

Pant^nus 632 

Clement, of Alexandria 633 

Tertullian 638 

HiPPOLYTus 643 

Origen 646 

Cyprian 652 

novatian 657 

Gregory ThaUxMaturgus 659 

Pampkilus 662 

EusEBius 663 

BoNATus 664 

Constantine the Great 666 

Athanasius 671 



Page 

Hilary of Poitiers 673 

Ulphilas 674 

Basil of Cesarea 675 

Gregory Nazianzen 677 

John Chrysostom 678 

DiDYMUS 681 

SisiuNius 681 

Ambrose 683 

Jerome 685 

YlGILANTIUS 687 

Augustine 690 

Patrick 693 

Benedict 698 

columban 702 

Constantine Sylvanus 703 

Peter "Waldo 707 

John Wickliffe 709 

John Huss 712 

Martin Luther 714 

John Calyin 718 



HISTOEY OF THE JEWS 722 



THE HISTORY 

OF THE 

LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER L 

PEESA.GE OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST PREDICTION" OF THE 

BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST SALUTATION OF THE 

BLESSED VIRGIN BY THE ANGEL VISITATION OF THE 

VIRGIN MARY TO ELIZABETH BIRTH OF THE BAPTIST. 

No event that ever did, or perhaps will, happen, can 
more remarkably display the wisdom and power of the 
great Jehovah, than the glorious manner in which he 
brought life and immortality to light, by the gospel of 
his only Son, manifested in the flesh. 

History, as it refers merely to human events, is a 
pleasing and instructing subject ; but that which relates 
to our immortal interests certainly claims our most 
serious regard. 

If we survey the stupendous works of the creation, we 
shall find that few arrived at perfection at once. This 
observation is amply confirmed by the various produc- 
tions in the natural and changes in the moral world. 
The Supreme Being, who conducts all his operations 
according to infinite wisdom, appears to have retained 
the same maxim in regulating his kindest dispensations 
to the sons of men. The divine will was not revealed, 

(15) 



16 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



at first, in its clearest evidence and fullest splendor. 
The dawn, in a spiritual as well as in a natural sense, 
preceded the meridian glory ; the former revelation was 
but a type or earnest of the latter, and, in comparison 
with it, intricate and mysterious. 

The all-gracious God, as it seemed best to his unerring 
wisdom, was pleased, by degrees, to open and unfold his 
glorious counsels ; and man, by degrees, attained to the 
knowledge of the great plan of salvation, and the means 
used by its great Author to promote and establish it.* 

Some time before the incarnation of the blessed Jesus, 
an opinion prevailed among the pious part of the Jews, 

* Among these providential means, as Dr. Turnbull has shown in his 
valuable work, "Christ in Eistory" was the choice of a Centeal Nation, 
to receive and lift up the torch of heavenly light amid the surrounding 
darkness. "As in society at large we find a central power, in religion a 
central principle, and in philosophy a central idea, it may be presumed 
that in the succession of human affairs, we shall find among the nations, 
in a more or less perfect form, a central or a chosen people, whether 
named church, or theocracy, or kingdom of God. We may expect not 
only a succession of divine facts, maintaining religion in the world, but a 
succession of individuals, families, and communities, perhaps some one 
community differing from all the rest in gifts, attainments, and usages, 
fitted to retain and transmit to all generations, and finally to the whole 
world, the principles and hopes of a perfect religion." 

Such a people were the ancient Hebrews. Such a land was Judea for 
fifteen hundred years. What the United States is in the modern world, 
midway between the two great oceans and continents, was Palestine in 
the ancient world, at the head of the Mediterranean sea, the very centre 
of intercourse and influence alike to Asia, Africa, and Europe. Thus its 
geographical position precisely corresponded with the character q,nd des- 
tination of its people, nor could we find any other spot then and thus 
happily situated for fulfilling the merciful purposes of the Most High. 
As Moses himself says, " When the Most High divided to the nations 
their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds 
of the people according to the number of the children of Israel." Deut. 
xxii. 8. 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



17 



that the great Jehovah would condescend to favor them 
with a clear revelation of his divine will, by the mission 
of some eminent person, qualified from above to instruct 
them in the same. This opinion was founded on the 
predictions of the ancient prophets, who had described, 
with the utmost beauty and clearness, the person, char- 
acter, and glory of the Messiah, appointed by God, in his 
own time, to declare his eternal counsels to mankind. 

Relying on the fulfilment of these prophecies, the 
devout persons among the Jews imagined the time 
appointed by God was near at hand,* and that the 

* Four prophecies in the Old Testament seem to furnish just grounds 
for such an expectation at that time. 

1. The prophecy of Jacob on his death-bed (Gen. xlix. 8-9). Shiloh. 
in this prediction can mean no other than the Messiah ; for our Lord 
sprang out of Judah, and this was the crowning blessing, the grand dis- 
tinction of this tribe, whose privileges Jacob is here predicting. Besides, 
the name here given him, the Peacemaker, can fitly apply to no other 
And to him alone is to be the gathering of all nations here foretold. 

The Messiah being then, beyond doubt, the subject of the prophecy, we 
need only inquire into the time here set for his manifestation on earth — 
" before the sceptre shall depart from Judah." The sceptre is the well 
known sign of royal authority. But Judah did not attain to royal author- 
ity till the time of David, and then not simply as a tribe, but as a State 
or kingdom, embracing within its limits Judah and Benjiuuin. These it 
retained after the rupture under Rehoboam, and received from the re- 
volted kingdom of Israel a large accession of loyal priests. The royal 
authority was rather suspended than destroyed at the captivity, and was 
revived afterward, first in modified and then in independent form, by the 
Maccabees (B. 0. 163), who, though of the priestly race, belonged to 
Judah. Now the last of that royal race were the two sons of Herod the 
Great, by Mariamne, who were put to death in the thirty-first year of 
his reign : the very year (according to Dr. Jarvis) in which the angel 
(Gabriel was sent to Zacharias in the temple, to announce the birth of 
John the Baptist, as the harbinger of the Messiah. Archelaus, who suc- 
ceeded, and for eight years reigned over Judea, was the son of Herod by 
a Samaritan mother. After his removal, Judea was reduced to a province. 
2 



18 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



appointed Messiah would shortly make his appearance, 
and therefore are said to ^'have waited night and day 
for the Consolation of Israel." The people, at that time 
grievously oppressed by the Roman power, and conse- 



governed by a Koman procurator. What Jew could fail to see in these 
events that "the sceptre had departed from Judah," and hence that the 
predicted time of the Messiah was come ? 

2. The same conclusion would be reached by a study of the second 
chapter of Daniel, especially the forty-fourth verse. The kingdom set 
up on earth by the God of heaven can be no other than the kingdom of 
the Messiah, and the conquest of the whole world by the iron energy of 
the Eoman arms, would leave no doubt that the time of the Messiah's 
ad v^ent and kingdom drew nigh. 

3. The kindred prophecy of the Seventy Weeks (Dan. ix. 24-27) fixed 
the time still more precisely ; and was evidently'- designed to do so, though 
many modern interpreters, from various causes, have missed the sense 
of certain parts, especially of the dates on which the computation of time 
proceeds. We are sorry to find the late indefatigable Professor Stuart in 
this category. A Masoretic pointing, manifestly false, plunges him into 
a. perplexity w^hich he is frank enough to confess. But as the Septuagint 
version, then current in Judea, has no such absurd pointing, we need not 
hesitate to reject it as an error of the Masorite Jews. Even he, however, 
admits that the key-verse of the passage (the twenty-fourth) refers to the 
period and to the purposes of the Messiah's coming, and that the Seventy 
Weeks are weeks of years, making four hundred and ninety years. He 
would indeed reckon this designated period from the decree of C^tus for 
the return of the Jews (B. C. 536) ; but even he can find no great event 
in Jewish history to correspond to this view of the case. Whereas, if we 
fix the first date from the solemn decree of Artaxerxes and his seven 
counsellors, in the seventh year of his reign (B. 0. 455), its termination, 
even allowing for slight errors in the chronology of the times, will 
embrace the very years of our Lord's manifestation, ministry, and death. 
As the death of Christ, which caused the Jewish " sacrifice and ofi'ering to 
cease," (so far as its value was concerned), by fulfilling the type, was to 
occur " in the midst of the week," or last seven years of the period, the re- 
maining three years and a half conduct us to the time of the " opening of 
the door of faith to the Gentiles." Thus every thing becomes clear. And 
what is to our present purpose, Jesus himself opened his ministry with 
the decisive words. "The time is fulfilled ; the kingdom of God is at hand 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 19 

quently anxious of regaining their liberty, as well 
as of revenging themselves on their tyrannical op- 
pressors, waited the accomplishment of the prophecies 
with the most solicitous desire. But this opinion of the 



Kepent ye, and believe the glad tidings." Mark i. 14, 15. A time ful- 
filled must certainly presuppose a time predicted. And in predicting the 
destruction of Jerusalem, as the consequence of not knowing " the time of 
his visitation," our Lord refers to this very prophecy, with the admonition, 

l^et him that readeth, understand." Mark xiii. 14. 

4. The prophecy of Haggai (ii. 3-9) of still later date, points to the 
same general conclusion. In it he consoled the aged Jews, who wept 
at the laying of the foundation of the second temple, by the assurance 
that " the glory of the latter house shall be greater than of the former." 

But how could this be ? In material richness and splendor it never 
approached the former, not even when afterward repaired, enlarged, and 
adorned by Herod the Great. Herod employed ten thousand laborers ; 
Solomon one hunched and eighty-three thousand ; and as to expenditure, 
all Herod's revenues were trifling compared with the wealth lavished on 
the former house by Solomon, which, at a moderate calculation, would 
be sufficient to pay the present national debt of the United States and 
Great Britain combined ! Miraculous gifts also glorified the first temple, 
which were utterly wanting in the second. No fire from heaven, such as 
kindled the flame on the altar of the first house, descended on the second 
No Shechinah dwelt in the Holy of Hohes, between the cherubim. Even 
the ark propitiatory and the cherubim were wanting ; the oracle from 
the mercy seat and Urim and Thummim never gave to it a single ray of 
their mysterious glory. 

In what way, then, could this prophecy of Haggai be fulfilled ? Only ir 
the way expressly promised, that " the Desire of all nations, the light to 
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel," should come into 
it, and thus glorify it by his sacred presence and teachings. The words of 
Malachi, later by a hundred years, thus expound and confirm it : 'And the 
Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the Messen- 
ger of the Covenant whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the 
Lord of hosts." Mai. iii. 1. Thus the voice of the prophet who closed up 
the inspired canon of the Old Testament, joined the voices of the former 
prophets, as if to keep the people who worshipped in that second house, 
forever on the tiptoe of expectation for the appearance of the Messiah, 
until his infant form was at length clasped in the arms of the aged SimeoiL 



20 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



approach of a general Deliverer extended much, farther 
than the country of the Jews ; for, through their con- 
nection with so many countries, their disputes with the 
learned men among the heathen, and the translation of 
the Old Testament into a language now almost general, 
their religion greatly prevailed in the East, and conse- 
quently their opinion, that a prince would appear in the 
kingdom of Judea, who would dispel the mists of igno- 
rance, deliver the Jews from the Koman yoke, and spread 
his dominion from one end of the world to the other. 

While the Eastern world was fraught with these san- 
guine hopes, the angel Gabriel, who had appeared to 
Daniel the prophet, with a certain information as to the 
period of the Messiah's coming,* as well as his transac- 
tions in this lower world, was sent to Zacharias, a pious 
priest, while he was executing his office Ibefore God, in 
the order of his course (which was to burn incense when 
he went into the temple of the Lord), to foretell that a 
child would spring from him and his wife Elizabeth, 
though they were stricken in years, who should be en- 
dowed with extraordinary gifts from heaven, and honored 
with being the forerunner of the Saviour of the world. 

Zacharias, when he saw the angel, though he probably 
knew him to be of heavenly extraction, could not judge 
the subject of his mission, and therefore discovered a 
mixture of fear and surprise, but the heavenly ambas- 
sador cheered his desponding soul with this kind address : 
^' Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy 
wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call 
his name John." That he waited, day and night, for 
the consolation of Israel, he well knew ; which is all we 



* See note, page 17. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



21 



can understand by his prayer being heard ; for it was un- 
natural in him to think that he and his wife Elizabeth, 
who were advanced in years, should have a son ; nay, 
he intimates his doubts concerning it in these words : 

Whereby shall I know this ? for I am an old man, and 
my wife well stricken in years." Besides, he was a 
priest of the course of Abia, whose particular office was 
to pray on behalf of the people, for public and national 
blessings ; so that it is very reasonable to think that on all 
occasions of public worship he prayed most earnestly for 
the accomplishment of the prophecies relative to the ap- 
pearance of the long-expected Messiah, who was promised 
as a general blessing to all the nations of the earth. 

That this was the great subject of his prayer appears 
from the declaration of Gabriel : The prayer thou hast 
directed with sincerity to an Almighty ear, con- 
cerning the coming of the Messiah, *^^is heard; and, 
behold, thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son," 
who shall prepare the way for the mighty Redeemer of 
Israel. The good old priest was much astonished at the 
subject of his mission, as he was at the appearance of the 
messenger ; and esteeming it impossible that his wife, 
thus advanced in years, should conceive a son, weakly 
demanded a sign, to confirm his belief in the fulfilment 
of the promise, though he knew the authority of th(i 
angel was derived from the God of truth. But, as it i.« 
the lot of humanity to err, Zacharias had, for that time, 
forgot that nothing was impossible to Omnipotence, as 
well as that it was not the first time the aged were 
caused to conceive and bear children, The least reflec- 
tion would have reminded him that Sarah had conceived 
and borne Isaac when she was far advanced in years ; 



22 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and that Samuel was born of a woman who was reputed, 
and even called, barren. 

His curiosity was, indeed, gratified, but in a manner 
that carried with it at once a confirmation of the pro- 
mise, and a punishment of his unbelief. As he had 
verbally testified his doubt of the fulfilment of the predic- 
tion of the angel, he was punished with the loss of hib 
speech, which was to continue to the very day in which 
the prediction should be accomplished: '^Behold, thou 
shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that 
these things shall be performed, because thou believest 
not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." 

Zacharias soon received an awful testimony of the 
divinity of the mission of Gabriel, who was no sooner 
departed than he was struck dumb ; for when he came 
to pray in the course of his ofiice during the oblation of 
his incense, he could not utter a word, and was under a 
necessity of making signs to the people that an angel 
had appeared to him in the temple, and that he was 
deprived of the faculty of speech, as a punishment for 
his doubting the fulfilment of an event which had been 
foretold concerning him. 

Soon after Zacharias departed to his own house (the 
days of his ministration being accomplished), his wife 
Elizabeth, according to the prediction of the angel, con- 
ceived, and retired into a private place, where she lived 
five months in the uninterrupted exercise of piety, 
devotion, and contemplation on the mysterious provi- 
dence of the Almighty, and his amazing goodness to the 
sinful children of men.* 



* Nothing- could be more important or indicative of the care of divine 
Providence, than the appointment of a Frrerimner to the Messiah, the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



23 



When Elizabeth was advanced six months in her 
pregnancy, the same heavenly ambassador was sent to a 
poor virgin, caljed Mary, who lived in obscurity in 
Nazareth, under the care of Joseph, to whom she was 
espoused. This man and woman were both lineally 
descended from the house of David, from whose loins it 
was foretold the great Messiah should spring.* 

This virgin, being ordained by the Most High to be 
the mother of the great Saviour of the world, was saluted 
by the angel in the most respectful terms : Hail, thou 
that art highly favored ; the Lord is with thee : blessed 

miraculous circumstances of whose birth were so admirably fitted to shield 
from suspicion the character of the Yirgin Mother of our Lord. Those 
who lose sight of this connection, dishonor the Scriptures and the wisdom 
of God in the method of human redemption. 

There is a unity in the scheme of Prophecy, as well as in its fulfilment. 
Three Old Testament prophecies predicted the mission of Christ's forerun- 
ner. Isaiah xl. 2-11 ; Malachi iii. 1 ; iv. 5, 6. His birth, therefore, was 
necessary, but the manner of it is a new development of the tender mercy 
of God ; which, the more it is studied, must fill us with increasing delight 
and adoration. 

* " St, Matthew dates the Messianic hope from David and from Abraham, 
and binds Christianity with the promises of the ancient covenant. St. 
Luke, on the contrary, places the corresponding descent not before the 
Birth, but after the Baptism, and represents Christ as the second Adam, 
the Son of God, In the one case, we see a royal infant born by a legal 
title to a glorious inheritance (though by his very name, destined to save 
his people from their sins) ; and in the other, a ministering Saviour, who 
bears the natural sum of human sorrow (and gives his life a ranson for 
many), 

" Even in the lines of descent, which extend through the period common 
to the two genealogies, there is a characteristic diflfcrcnce. St. Matthew 
follows the course of the royal inheritance of Solomon, Avhose natural 
lineag( was closed by the childless Jehoiachim ; St, Luke traces, through 
Natnai . the natural parentage of the Son of David. In St. MattLow, the 
birth of Christ is connected with national glories; in St, Luke, with piou? 
hopes."-- Wes^co/^ on the Four Gospels, ]8G2. 



24 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



art thou among women !" Such an address, from so 
exalted a being, greatly alarmed the meek and humble 
virgin ; to ailav whose fear, and encourage whose heart, 
the angel related, in the most sublime terms, the subject 
of his embassy, which was to assure her that she was 
th-e chosen of God to the greatest honor which could be 
conferred on a mortal, and which would perpetuate her 
memory ; an honor no less than that of being mother 
of the promised and long-expected Messiah, who upon 
e-arth should be called Jesus, because he shall save the 
people from their sins, be the restorer of human nature, 
and the procuring cause of eternal bliss to sinners who 
had forfeited the favor and incurred the resentment of 
an offended God : that this divine person was the Son 
of the Most High God : to whom shotild be given, by his 
Almighty Father, a throne in the heavenly kingdom, on 
which he should gloriously preside, and which, being the 
whole church of Christ, the house of Jacob, the spiritual 
Israel, or the kingdom of the Messiah, should continue 
forever and ever. 

The astonished virgin, unmindfal that Isaiah had 
long since prophesied •■'that a virgin should conceive 
and bear a son," thotight her virginity an insurmount- 
able barrier to the fulfilment of the promise, especialh' 
as such an event had never occurred since the creation 
of the world ; and therefore required of the angel an 
explanation of the manner in which such a circumstance 
could be effected. 

This desire by no means implies her not remembering 
that with God all things were possible, but only serves 
to prove the weakness of her apprehensions on the one 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



25 



hand, or her diffidence and sense of her unworthiness 
on the other. 

The angel, therefore, perceiving the uprightness of 
her disposition, notwithstanding some little proof of 
human weakness and shortness of sight, vouchsafed an 
immediate answer to her inquiry : The Holy Ghost 
shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest 
shall overshadow thee or, in other words, This miracu- 
lous event shall be brought about by the aid of the Holy 
Spirit and wonderful exertion of the power of the Most 
High. As thy conception will be effected by the imme- 
diate influence of the Holy Ghost, " therefore also that 
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called 
the Son of God." To confirm her faith in the glorious 
message, the heavenly messenger observed to her, that 
her cousin Elizabeth, notwithstanding her advanced 
years and reputed barrenness, was about six months 
pregnant ; assigning this incontestable argument for the 
miraculous incident : For with God nothing shall hs 
impossible." 

This reply not only removed all her doubts and fear,? 
but filled her with inexpressible joy, so that she even 
anticipated the promised felicity ; for she, with the rest 
of the daughters of J acob, had long indulged a hope of 
being selected by God to be the honored mother of the 
Saviour of Israel and therefore, on her being assured 
that such happiness was destined her by the great Dis- 
poser of all events, she thus expressed her reliance on 
the fulfilment of the Divine promise, and perfect acquies- 

* This is too strongly expressed. According to the Scrip lures, none 
but the daughters of Judah, in the Hne of David, could entertain a reason- 
able expectation of this sort. 



26 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



cence in the will of the Almighty : Behold the hand 
maid of the Lord! be it unto me according to thy 
word."* 

The angel had no sooner departed, than Mary set out 
for the mountainous country of Judea, though at a very 
remote distance from Nazareth, in order to rejoice with 
her cousin Elizabeth in the joyful news she had received 
from the angel concerning her. The rapture and delight 
which filled the minds of Mary and Elizabeth, on the 
occasion of this salutation, can only be conceived from 
the affecting description recorded by the evangelist Luke, 
who is peculiar for the beauty of his style and elegance 
of his expressions. 

That evangelist writes, that the salutation of Mary 
had such an effect upon Elizabeth, that on hearing of 
the miraculous event that had befallen the virgin, the 
babe leaped within her, and that she, being ins|)ired 
with a holy delight on the approaching prospect of the 
nativity of her Saviour, exclaimed with rapture, "And 

* The acquiescence here expressed in the Divine Will, implies a far 
greater trial and triumph of faith than is generally imagined. This is well 
set forth by Mr. Ellicott, in his Bampton Lectures on the Life of Christ : 
"With the rapid foreglance of thought she must have seen in the clouded 
future, scorn, dereliction, the pointed finger of a mocking and uncharitable 
world, calumny, shame, death. But what was a world's scorn or a world's 
persecution to those words of promise ? Faith sustains that possible 
shrinking from more than mortal trial, and turns it into meekness and 
resignation : ' Behold the hand maid of the Lord. Be it unto me according 
to thy word.' 

"From that hour the blessed Virgin seems ever to appear before up^ in 
that character, which the notices of the Gospels so consistently demon- 
strate, meek and pensive, meditative and resigned, blest with joys no 
tongue can tell, and yet, even in the first hour of her blessedness, be- 
ginning to feel one edge of the sword that was to pierce through ) "^jt 
loving and submissive heart." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



27 



whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should 
come to me ?" (Luke i. 43.) Nor did her ecstasy cease 
with this token of humility and joy on the important 
event, in the ardor of which she evinced that prophetic 
influence, which, while it amazed the blessed virgin, 
could not fail of establishing her belief in what the angel 
had foretold ; for she repeated the very words expressed 
by the angel in his salutation of the holy virgin, 
Blessed art thou among women together with a 
quotation from the Psalms, and blessed is the fruit of 
thy womb." 

Mary conceived the Seed long promised and earnestly 
desired ; the Seed in whom all the nations of the earth 
were to be blessed, according to the words of the Psalm- 
ist : His name shall continue as long as the sun ; and 
men shall be blessed in him ; all nations shall call him 
blessed." The happy virgin, catching the holy flame 
from the aged Elizabeth, broke out into an humble 
acknowledgment of her unworthiness, and the wonder- 
ful grace of the Almighty in appointing her to the exalted 
honor of bearing the Redeemer of Israel, as expressed 
in these known words, "My soul doth magnify the 
Lord," etc. 

Thus having, by this visit, confirmed herself in the 
belief of the prediction of the angel Gabriel, when the 
period of Elizabeth's pregnancy approached, she returned 
to Nazareth, having resided in Judea about three 
months. 

Soon after the departure of Mary, Elizabeth brought 
forth a son, the appointed harbinger of the King of 
Glory; and on the eighth day after his birth, according 
to the Judaical custom, he was circumcised, and call<^d. 



28 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



agreeably to the appointment of tlie angel, John; 
alluding, in the Hebrew tongue, to the gracious display 
of the wisdom and goodness of God, who was about to 
manifest himself to the world by the spreading of the 
gospel of his Son, of whom this John was the appointed 
forerunner. 

The promise being thus fulfilled, the aged priest was 
restored to his speech, and immediately broke out into 
praise and rapture at the marvellous works of God, in 
strains which astonished all around him. 

This surprising event greatly agitated the people of 
the adjacent country, who were divided in their opinions 
concerning a child whose birth was attended with so 
many extraordinary circumstances. Indeed, these inci- 
dents were worthy of general admiration ; that he who 
was to be the forerunner of the mighty Saviour of Israel 
should not make his entrance on life in an obscure and 
common manner, but with j)articular tokens of the favor 
of Heaven, in order to attract the observation of his 
countrymen, and excite their attention to that ministry 
which he is called to by the blessed God, even the pre- 
paration of the people for the reception of the Messiah, 
who was shortly to appear in the fiesh. 

It is observable that the Baptist, from his infancy, 
displayed great qualities both of mind and body; for 
such was his strength of constitution, through the bless- 
ing of the God of nature, that he lived till near the 
thirtieth year of his age, when his public ministry began, 
in the mountainous and desert country of Judea, bereft 
of almost all the comforts of life. But at length the 
prophecy of the good old Zacharias, relating to his future 
elevation, was literally fulfilled : Thou, 0 child, shalt 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



2^ 



be called the Prophet of the Highest ; for thou shalt g€ 
before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give 
knowledge of salvation to his people, by the remission 
of their sins, through the tender mercies of our God, 
whereby the Day spring from on high hath visited us, to 
give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow 
of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace." 

As Joseph had betrothed Mary according to the 
method of the Jewish espousals, before they came to 
cohabit together as man and wife she was found to be 
with child ; at which he was so much confounded that 
he resolved to put her away. Yet he purposed doing it 
privately, probably to prevent that exemplary punish- 
ment which the law inflicted on those who had violated 
the faith of their espousals before the marriage was com- 
pleted (Deut. xxi. 23, 24), or to avoid the infamy of a 
public divorce. 

"While he was ruminating on this interesting event, ho 
was overtaken with a pleasing slumber, and received a 
communication from above, which fully revealed the 
cause and manner of Mary's pregnancy, dispelled his 
doubts, and encouraged him to take home his falsely- 
suspected spouse : " Joseph, thou son of David, fear not 
o take unto thee Mary thy wife ; for that which is con- 
ceived in her is of the Holy Ghost."* 

Dreams, supernaturally influenced, have ever had a place among the 
various methods of divine communication. Perhaps it is the most simple 
method. Thus Pharoah and Abiraelech were admonished against taking 
Sarah: Jacob was cheered on his journey to Padan Aram ; Joseph as- 
sured of his future greatness ; the chief butler and baker apprised of their 
approaching lot, and Pharoah himself, of the coming years of plenty and 
famine. Superstition has abused this fact, as it has every other ; never- 
theless, the fact remains. 



30 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



The pious Joseph complied with the voice of Heaven 
most cheerfully ; for no sooner did the morning dawn 
appear, than he rose from his couch, and obeyed the 
commands of the Most High, by relating to his espoused 
wife his being assured of her innocence, and immediately 
restored her to her former favor. 

While he related to her the manner of this extra- 
ordinary revelation by a messenger from heaven, he 
discovered in her a remarkable chastity of heart, entirely 
conformable to so mysterious an operation, and knew 
her not till she had brought forth the great Redeemer 
of Israel. 

Thus was fulfilled that which was foretold by the 
prophets, and particularly the prediction of Isaiah, 
which imported that a Virgin should bring forth a son : 
" Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and 
shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, 
is God with us." Isa. vii. 14 ; Matt. i. 23. 



Some supernatural dreams require an interpreter ; others, from their 
peculiar character, interpret themselves, like the dream of Joseph on this 
occasion. In the former case, they are given in symbols ; in the latter 
the appearance and language are literal and evidently divine. 

It is apparent from the evangelical narrative, that as yet Joseph knew 
nothing of the Angelic Annunciation to Mary. Those who imagine she 
would immediately communicate it to her espoused husband, are without 
any authority or good reason for such a supposition. In so singular a 
case, silence was natural, till God himself should open the way for the 
communication. The native modesty of her sex, her conscious innocence, 
her calm confidence in the power and protection of the Almighty, all 
combined to impose silence. Joseph evidently had no idea of the truth. 
He was revolving quite different ideas, in the most painful pexplexity. 
Hence, such a dream was not a natural one, but the contrary ; and its 
effect on his mind prepared the way for a full communication of the truth, 
authenticated as it then was by the birth of John the Baptist. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



31 



CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL DECREE FOR TAXATION" PUBLISHED BIRTH OF 

CHRIST — DECLARATION OF THE SAME TO SHEPHERDS 

CIRCUMCISION AND PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE 

TEMPLE THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST WORSHIP THE 

HOLT CHILD FLIGHT OF JOSEPH INTO EGYPT MASSACRE 

OF INFANTS AT BETHLEHEM DEATH OF HEROD — RETURN 

OF JOSEPH OUT OF EGYPT. 

Augustus C^sar, the Eoman emperorj having at this 
time issued an edict for a general taxation on all na- 
tions, cities, and towns subject to the empire, King 
Herod, in consequence of that decree, commanded all 
under his government to muster in the city of his people, 
or place of his descent, that an estimate might be taken 
of their persons and effects.* Pursuant to this order. 



* Taxing implies a registration of persons and property, an assessment 
of taxes on this basis, and an enforcement or actual collection of the taxes 
assessed. Of these elements of a taxing, it appears that only the first 
was executed at the time of our Lord's birth. For some reason, perhaps 
the exhaustion of the people, consequent on Herod's enlargement and 
adorning of the Jewish temple, which occupied the last eight years of his 
reign, Augustus forebore to complete the taxation of Judea, until about 
twelve years later, after Archelaus. the son of Herod, was deposed, and the 
country was reduced to a Koman province dependent on Syria, of which 
Cyrenius was then President. Even then it gave rise to a rebellion, 
mentioned by Luke (Acts v. 37), owing to the violent repugnance of the 
Jews to acknowledge allegiance to a foreign heathen master. 

The politico-religious sects of the Herodians and Galileans seem to 
liave taken their origin on that occasion ; the former affirming, and the 
latter denying the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar. These secU 



32 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Joseph and Mary, as descendants from the line of 
Davidj departed from Nazareth, where they then re- 
sided, a.nd came to Bethlehem, a city of Judea, the 
place of the nativity of David and his ancestors. 

The manner and place of our Lord's birth certainly 
demand our highest admiration and wonder, and are 
a striking display of wisdom, both in the direction and 
accomplishment of the will of his heavenly Father. 
Considered in his divine nature, heaven is the habita- 
tion of his throne, and the earth is his footstool ; con- 
sidered in his human nature, he is humble beneath all, 
being confined within the narrow limits of a manger. 
Though, as the Son of God, he is the brightness of his 
Father's glory, the express image of his person, and 
his throne is forever and ever ! — as the Son of man, oh, 
wondrous condescension ! he is wrapped in the meanest 
swaddling-clothes ; and, as man, he takes up his habi- 
tation with the beasts of the field ! In fine, let us adore 
his grace and love in vailing those glories for a time 
which he enjoyed at the right hand of his Father, 
assuming our nature, and that in its humblest state, in 
order to raise us to that degree of glory and happiness 
which, by our apostasy from God, we had justly for- 
feited ; exulting with the prophet, Sing, 0 heavens, 
and be joyful, 0 earth, and break forth into singing, 0 
mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people !" 

But the humble manner in which the blessed Jesus 
made his appearance in the world did not long eclipse 
the glory of his descent — a heavenly messenger being 
despatched from above to apprize mankind of their 



continued to agitate the country up to the time of its fatal rebellion and 
overthrow by the Romans under Titus. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



33 



Saviour's incarnation. It pleased the Wise Disposer 
of all things, by his holy angel, first to make known to 
some honest shepherds, who were watching their flocks 
by night in the neighboring fields, the birth of the long- 
promised, long-expected Messiah. The radiance which 
shone around them terrified the astonished peasants; 
but to dissipate their fears, and confirm their joys, the 
divine messenger interposed, and thus addressed them : 
Fear not ; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of 
great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto 
you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, 
which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign 
unto you : Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling- 
clothes, lying in a manger." Luke ii. 10, etc. 

The glorious news was no sooner proclaimed than a 
number of the celestial choir were heard to resound the 
praises of the Almighty for this transcendent display of 
his goodness to sinful men: And suddenly there, was 
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, prais- 
ing God, and saying. Glory to God in the highest, and 
on earth peace, good-will toward men." Transported 
with the happy tidings of the birth of the Kedeemer of 
Israel, the angel no sooner departed than the shepherds 
hastened to Bethlehem in quest of the Babe, whom, 
according to the information of the sacred missionary, 
they found wrapped in swaddling-clothes and lying in 
a manger. This event, so exactly conformable to the 
angel's prediction, equally delighted and amazed them ; 
nor could they conceal the purport of his mission, but 
published abroad all they had seen and heard. 

Having viewed, with praise and wonder, their long- 
expected Saviour, and offered their grateful praises to 

3 



34 



9 

LIFE OF CHRIST. 



God for the manifestation of his goodness to mankind, 
they departed with hearts filled with love and gratitude, 
still glorifying the almighty Parent of universal nature. 

After the expiration of eight days from the birth of 
the holy infant, he was circumcised, according to the 
Mosaic institution; and thus, by a few drops, gave 
earnest of the abundance of blood which he was to shed 
for the purification of mankind. The blessed Redeemer 
passed through this ceremony, not that he stood in any 
necessity of conforming to the laAvs of any kind, being 
the supreme Lawgiver, with respect to his exalted 
nature ; but, as, considered in his humble state, he was 
born of a woman, made under the law, and came, 
according to his own declaration, to fulfil all righteous- 
ness, it was requisite he should conform to that custom 
which characterized the Jewish nation and was one 
of the principal injunctions of the Mosaic law, under 
which he was born, in order to fulfil all that is spoken 
of him in the Scriptures. 

Besides, as all the promises made to Abraham were 
to be fulfilled in the Messiah, it was necessary he should 
receive the seal of circumcision, in order to prove his 
descent from the patriarch, concerning whom it was 
foretold, In thy seed shall all the families of the 
earth be blessed." As a further reason for our Lord's 
compliance with this Jewish institution, we may urge 
the propriety of his finishing the former dispensation by 
an exact adherence to its rules, as he was about to 
establish another and much better. 

As the same institution also required that every first- 
born son, without any regard to circumstances of family, 
should be presented to the Lord in the temple, by 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



36 



delivering him into the hands of the priest and paying 
five shekels, together with an offering which, from the 
poorer sort, consisted of a pair of turtle-doves or two 
young pigeons — a ceremony in commemoration of the 
divine mercy in sparing the first-born of Israel when 
those of Egypt, both man and beast, were destroyed — 
so his parents, having tarried at Bethlehem till the days 
of Mary's purification were accomplished, brought the 
child Jesus to Jerusalem, and there presented him in 
the temple to the Lord, in the manner thus described, 
with the offering allowed to the poorer sort of people ; 
a repeated instance of the exact obedience of the im- 
maculate Jesus to the ceremonial law, as well as of the 
poverty of his parents, though descended from a royal 
house. 

During the presentation of the holy infant, there en- 
tered the temple a pious and venerable old man, named 
Simeon, who, with all the devout, had waited day and 
night for the consolation of Israel," and to whom it had 
been revealed by the Spirit of Truth that he should not 
depart this mortal life till he had seen the Lord of life 
and salvation. 

Accordingly, it was signified to him by the Holy 
Ghost, at whose instance he came at the precise time 
into the temple, that the child there presented was the 
long-expected Messiah, even the Redeemer of Israel. In 
an ecstacy of joy he embraced the heavenly infant in 
his arms, and exclaimed, Lord, now lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, according to thy word : for 
mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast pre- 
pared before the face of all people : a light to lighten 



36 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." Luke 
ii. 29-32.* 

A certain good prophetess, called Anna, who had a 
long time waited for the redemption of Israel, entering 
the temple at the instant in which Simeon exulted in 
the birth of the heavenly Infant, and finding that he 
was the promised Messiah, likewise joined with him in 
praising God, and went forth and declared the glad 
tidings of salvation to all the faithful in those parts. 

Having, in every respect, complied with the ceremo- 
nies and rites contained in the law of Moses, Joseph 
and Mary, with the child Jesus, " returned to Galilee, 
to their city Nazareth." They did not, however, long 
abide there, for having adjusted their affairs, they re- 
turned again to Bethlehem, the place of our Lord's 
nativity. 

This step appears to have been pursued in conse- 
quence of their opinion that it was necessary, in order 
to his being acknowledged the Messiah, sent by God, 
that he should reside some time in the place of his 
birth. Whatever was their motive for removal, it is 
evident, from Scripture, that while they were in Beth- 

* The songs of Mary, Zacharias, and Simeon, as critics have observed, 
are consecutive in subject as they are continuous in time. Where the 
Virgin ends, Zacharias begins ; where Zacharias ends, Simeon begins. 
The Virgin gives vent to her immediate feelings, and her subject closes 
with the birth of the Messiah. Zacharias opens a prospective though 
limited field of vision : he begins with the gracious visitation of Messiah's 
birth, and ends with the guidance of the Jewish people into the way of 
peace. But Simeon altogether passes by the first gathering of Jewish 
converts : he commences with the removing of the vail from the under- 
standing and affections of the Gentiles, and concludes with the final mani- 
festation of the divine glory, when, after the fulness of the Grcntiles 
shall have come in, " all Israel shall be saved." — JebVs Sacred Literature. 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



37 



lehem, with their Son, certain Eastern philosophers, 
called Magi, or wise men, on account of the appearance 
they had seen, went to Jerusalem, and inquired for the 
King of the Jews, declaring they, had seen his star in 
their own quarter, and were come to pay him the adorar 
tion due to his dignity.* 

Various conjectures have been formed by the learned 
concerning this star, which is said to have Appeared in 
the east ; some think it was the Spirit of God, others 
an angel, some a comet, others a luminous appearance, 
etc. A modern writer thinks it was the glory that sur- 
rounded the angels who had appeared to the shepherds 
of Bethlehem on the night of the blessed Lord's nativity . 

The word Magus is of Persian origin, and (in the plural) denotes 
wise men, philosophers, astronomers. They lived in colleges, under a 
common master, and observed common laws, devoted to the higher 
branches of study, and masters of all the science of their time. These col- 
leges were found in Persia, Arabia, and Babylon, and it is not quite clear 
from which of these eastern countries the Wise Men came, who came to 
inquire after the new-born King of the Jews. 

But it is worthy of remembrance here that Daniel, from whom we have 
the prophecy of the Seventy "Weeks of years, was made head of the col- 
leges of the Magi in Babylon, and that those under him could hardly be 
ignorant of so remarkable a prophecy, or of its proper interpretation in 
reference to the Messiah, and the time of his coming. A tradition of this, 
at least, would be likely to descend from age to age, blended very likely 
with the ancient oracle of Balaam (Numbers xxiv. 17). 

I shall see Him, but not now ; 
I shall behold Him, but not nigh ; 
There shall come a Star out of Jacob, 
And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. 

When, further, we remember that these learned heathen connected astrol- 
ogy with their astronomical studies, and so were constantly watching the 
aspects of the heavens, and seeking to understand their import, we shall 
not wonder at the conclusion to which they were providentially led on 
this occasion 



3i 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



But to leave this subject, as not immediately apper- 
taining to our purpose. The whole city of Jerusalem 
was aroused at the unexpected appearance of the Eastern 
Magi; an event which much perplexed the tyrant 
Herod, whose ambitious mind maintained the utmost 
aversion to the thought of a rival or competitor, and 
consequently could not brook a report that favored the 
news of the birth of the King of the Jews. 

Disguising, however, his sentiments, he received the 
Magi with seeming respect, attended to the design of 
their errand with affected complacency, and, to gratify 
their curiosity, summoned a general council, and de- 
manded of them where Christ should he horn. The coun- 
cil kept him not long in suspense ; for, well remember- 
ing the prophets had particularly foretold the place of 
his birth, they replied to the demand of the monarch, 

In Bethlehem in Judea ;" and, to confirm their answer, 
cited prophetic authority : ^^And thou, Bethlehem, in 
the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes 
of Judea; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that 
shall rule my people Israel." (Matt. ii. 6.) The tyrant 
king, in consequence of the reply from the supreme 
council of the nation, directed the Magi to Bethlehem, 
as the place, according to ancient prophecy, designed 
for the honor of Christ's nativity, earnestly entreating 
them at the same time, immediately on their finding 
out the child, to send him word, that he might repair 
thither and pay his adoration to him also. 

But this was mere pretence, and vile hypocrisy ; for 
so far was Herod from entertaining any religious regard 
for the infant Jesus, that he vowed in his heart to 
destroy him as soon as he should be found ; looking on 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



39 



him as designed for a temporal prince, who should 
expel him, or his descendants, from the throne of J udea, 
instead of a prince whose kingdom was wholly spiritual, 
and whose throne was not to be established upon earth, 
but in the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Although we may have many stronger proofs of the 
divinity of our Saviour's mission than his miraculous 
preservation from the designs of the ambitious Herod, 
yet this was very remarkable. The tyrant, in this case, 
acted with the utmost subtlety ; he declined accompany- 
ing the wise men in person; nor did he even send 
attendants with them, who, under the guise of honoring 
them, might have secretly informed him of the abode of 
the Messiah. In short, he acted with such apparent in- 
difference as if he had no peculiar reason for despatch- 
ing them on the occasion. 

However, the Magi, having obtained the intelligence 
they sought in Jerusalem, went forward, under the 
guidance of the same star that conducted them from 
their own country. It had left them on their arrival 
in Judea, which was the cause of their directing their 
course to the capital, in order to seek that information 
which, by the desertion of the star, became requisite. 
Thus it appears the design of the Almighty in direct- 
ing the Eastern Magi to the capital of Judea was, that 
the whole nation might be made acquainted with the 
cause of their journey. 

Guided to the feet of their Spiritual King in Beth- 
lehem, the Wise Men worshipped him, and presented 
their gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, warned 
of God not to go back to Herod at Jerusalem, they 
returned to their own land by another way. 



40 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



It is natural and reasonable to suppose that the end 
of the divme wisdom, in directing these Magi to the 
kingdom of Judea to worship the child Jesus, was not 
merely to gratify the curiosity of the wise men, because 
the event promoted many other very important designs. 

It contributed, moreover, to a valuable purpose, in 
that the offerings of the wise men procured a subsist- 
ence for the holy family in Egypt, whither they had 
to fly, in order to escape the vengeance of the enraged 
king. For no sooner had the wise men departed from 
Bethlehem, than Joseph was warned by a heavenly 
messenger of the barbarous purpose of Herod, and com- 
manded to flee into Egj^pt with the young child and 
his mother. 

Joseph, in obedience to the Almighty's command, 
rose that very night and prepared to go into Egypt, 

and was there until the death of Herod; that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the 
prophet. Out of Egypt have I called my Son."* This 
prophecy, which is quoted from Hosea, seems originally 
to refer to the Israelites ; though the evangelist's refer- 
ence will be amply justified by considering that the 
prophetic language alludes to the subjection of the 
Israelites to great hardships, and their deliverance from 
the same by an Almighty hand. Now, as the departure 
of the holy family into Egypt was in obedience to the 
divine command, in order to protect the holy Jesus from 
the incensed Herod, the application of the prophet, 
" Out of Egypt have I called my Son," appears very 
just, as well as elegant. 



* " Fulfilled," i. e.. accomplished in a higher and more perfect manner. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



41 



The King of Judea waited with the most earnest ex- 
pectation the return of the wise men, anxious to glut 
his resentment on the innocent J esus ; till, from their 
long delay, he began to suspect a delusion, and that 
his designs were frustrated by some extraordinary inter- 
position of Providence. 

At length, irritated by disappointment, he resolved 
to accomplish by cruelty a resolution he could not effect 
by art, and accordingly issued orders to a large party of 
soldiers to go throughout Bethlehem and the neighbor- ^ 
ing villages, and massacre all the children whom they 
could find therein, from two years old and under, think- 
ing that the infant Jesus, whom as a prince he both 
envied and dreaded, would fall in the general slaughter.* 
But the heavenly child was sheltered from above ; nor 
was the relentless king permitted to impede the design 
of an Almighty Creator. However, the places through 
which the soldiers carried the destructive sword exhib- 
ited such scenes of horror and distress as could not fail 
to pierce every soul not entirely lost to humanity : no 
sound was heard but the affecting cries of parents, the 
groans of expiring babes, and a general imprecation of 
vengeance on the merciless tyrant. But he did not 
long survive his cruel decree, being swept from his throne 

* Bethlehem was six miles south of Jerusalem. Its population was 
small; for in reference to this very time, the prophet calls it "little 
among the thousands of Judah." Hence the number of male infants 
under two years of age was quite limited, probably not exceeding thirty. 
Josephus does not mention this massacre among the more atrocious 
cruelties of Herod, but it is referred to hy Macrobius, a heathen writer, 
as an event which drew forth the severe comments of Augustus Coesar. 
especially as the execution of Herod's son, Antipater, occurred about the 
same time. 



42 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



by a nauseous disease, to answer for his conduct at the 
bar of a tremendous Judge.* 

The tyrant Herod being cut off from the face of the 
earth, Joseph was directed by a heavenly messenger to 
return to the land of Israel. The good old man obeyed 
the Almighty's command, and appears to have had a great 
desire of residing in Judea, and very probably in Beth- 
lehem ; but hearing that Plerod was succeeded in his 
throne by his son Archelaus,f and fearing that he might 



^' The death of Herod took place at Jericho, in the month of March, 
about a yi^ar and three months after the birth of Jesus, probably within 
three months after the massacre of the innocent babes of Bethlehem. So 
swiftly judgment followed upon that bloody attempt to take the life of the 
infant Saviour. 

t It is one of the marvels of Providence that the removal of Archelaus 
and the annexation of Judea to Syria as a Roman province, was done by 
Augustus Caesar, at the earnest request of the Jewish people themselves. 
Such were their fears that he would walk in the steps of his father, Herod, 
that they, under the protection of Yarns, President of Syria, presented 
this request the very year Archelaus came to the government, and ten 
years before it was granted, Augustus being then unwilling to set aside 
altogether the will of Herod. But ten years of trial convinced the Em- 
perior of his unfitness for power, and he yielded to the renewed accusa- 
tions and solicitations of the Jewish people. 

Oyrenius (or Quirinus) was then President of Syria,, and one of his first 
acts on the annexation of Judea to his province, was to carry into efi'ect 
the taxing begun twelve years before, but then suspended. To this the 
people yielded at first without murmuring ; but when Cyrenius returned 
to Syria, leaving Coponius, a weak man, as governor of Judea under him, 
a terrible insurrection broke out in Galilee against the tax, which brought 
great distress upon the country before it was subdued by the Romans. 
This was the year before Jesus was twelve years of age. Coponius was 
soon removed, and was succeeded by Marcus, Rufus, Gratus, and Pilate, 
under the last of whom our Lord was crucified. 

Archelaus was condemned at Rome, his property confiscated, and he 
was banished to "Vienne, in Gaul. Thus the great obstacles to our 
Saviour's attendance at the annual feasts of the Jews at Jerusalem was 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



43 



pursue the barbarous design of his father, he directed 
his course another way; and being warned again by a 
heavenly mission, he retired into Galilee, then under 
the government of a more mild and benevolent prince, 
called Antipas, and took up his habitation at Nazareth, 
where the particular circumstances which attended the 
birth of the blessed Jesus were not generally known. 
The evangelist affirms that Joseph, with the infant and 
his mother, resided in Nazareth, where the holy Jesus 
spent his youth — "that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene," 
i. e., exposed to every token of contempt and ridicule ; 
of which this appellation at that time was a remarkable 
instance. 



removed, and he henceforth could go up regularly with Joseph and Mary, 
from his twelfth year. 

But the voluntary surrender of their liberties to the Eomans was a 
fatal event to the Jews, Odious taxes, arbitrary and rapacious governors, 
wanton insults to their religion, new political parties and animosities, the 
rejection of Christ and trust in false Messiahs, led them at last into that 
rebellion which finally destroyed the nation. 



44 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER III. 

STATE OF OUR LORD'S CHILDHOOD AND PRIVATE LIFE HIS 

INTERVIEW WITH THE JEWISH DOCTORS MISSION, CHAR- 
ACTER, AND DOCTRINE OF THE BAPTIST BAPTISM OF 

CHRIST, AND VISIBLE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON 
THAT SOLEMNITY. 

The precise circumstances of our Lord's childhood and 
life, previous to his public ministry, cannot be ascer- 
tained from the writings of any of the evangelists, 
which can be relied on as authentic. All we can gather 
from them is, that the faculties of his mind were en- 
larged according to the growth of his body, insomuch 
that he arrived at the very perfection of heavenly 
wisdom. 

As his parents were poor, he had not the advantage 
of a finished education ; and he seems to have received 
no other instruction than what his parents gave him in 
conformity to the Jewish law.* But supernatural 
abilities amply compensated for the deficiency of natural 
acquirements, and he gave instances in his earliest years 
of amazing penetration and consummate wisdom. 

According to the Mosaic institution, his parents an 
nually went up to Jerusalem, and, when he arrived at 
the age of twelve years, carried him with them to that 
city, in order that he might early imbibe the precepts of 
religion and virtue. f In this place the holy J esus tarried 

* See especially Deut. vi. 4-9. 

t Jerusalem is about sixty miles south of Nazareth by the most direct 
route through Samaria. By the sea-coast, or through Perea on the east 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



45 



(\^ithout the knowledge, and consequently the consent, of 
his parents,* who departed Avith the rest that were going 
toward Galilee ; and, thinking that he was gone forward 
with some of their relations or acquaintances, they con - 
tinued their journey, not doubting but they should 
overtake him on the road, or meet with him at the 
place where they had appointed to lodge. But on their 
arrival, not finding the child in the village, nor among 
their relations, they returned to Jerusalem, much 
troubled, and, after a most anxious search of three 
days, found him in the temple, sitting among the 
learned doctors, who were amazed at the wisdom of 
his questions, and the pertinence of his replies ; which 



of the J ordan (the route preferred by the more bigoted Jews to avoid the 
Samaritans), the distance was nearly doubled. 

With what interest must Jesus at the age of twelve have visited for 
the first time the Holy City ! With what delightful awe must he have 
entered the temple for worship ! With what eager hopes of instruction 
must he have sat down at the feet of the learned masters of Israel ! If he 
failed to find what he sought, it was not for want of the modesxy, docility, 
and thirst for knowledge so befitting and beautiful in the young, as the 
sequel of the inspired record shows. 

* This does not appear to have been intentional on the part of Jesus. 
The incident evidently marks his intense absorption in the studies and 
inquiries connected with the word of God, arising from the impulse of the 
Holy Spirit. In this divine employment he counted not time. He pre- 
ferred it above his chief joy. Nor would he willingly leave such a signal 
opportunity of gaining and imparting the lessons of holy wisdom, until 
actually sought out and summoned by his parents. So much, indeed, 
seems evident from his answer to his mother, How is it that ye sought, 
me ? Wist ye not that I must be in my Father's house and about His 
business ?" But though he thus asserted the duty of obedience to the 
impulse of the Holy Spirit over all inferior claims, he did not hesitate to 
obey them also "in the Lord;" remaining in willing subjection to them 
"until the time appointed of the Father," which was eighteen years 
longer. What a lovely and perfect example to the young ! 



46 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



were greatly superior to what they could expect from 
one of his tender years and mean education. 

These doctors, or expounders of the law among the 
Jews, always taught the people public^ on the three 
great festivals ; and it was on one of these public occar 
sions that the blessed Jesus gave such manifest proofs 
of his wisdom and penetration as astonished all the 
beholders, many of whom thought he must be something 
more than human. 

Many people of more speculation than piety may be 
induced to inquire the cause which prevented the Evan- 
gelists giving us an exact detail of the transactions of 
our blessed Saviour's life, from the twelfth year of his 
age till the time of his public ministry. To such we 
answer that the design of the sacred writers being to 
instruct rather than amuse, they consulted our spiritual 
interests more than our humor and caprice; and thus, 
therefore, the wisdom of God, by whose inspiration they 
wrote, demands our admiration, in that they passed 
over less important parts of our Saviour's life, which 
would have swelled their Gospels to an enormous bulk, 
fit only for the perusal of the studious, and those per- 
sons who have much vacant time. Whereas the four 
Gospels, as they are written, make only a small volume, 
which is convenient for carriage, for reading, for the 
memory to retain, as well as adapted by the plainness 
of its style to the meanest capacities; notwithstanding 
which they contain all the important transactions of our 
Saviour's life, such as those which relate to his media- 
torial office, and the design of his incarnation, which was 
to teach us the things which belong to our eternal peace 
and happiness; to instruct us in his heavenly doctrines 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 47 

as our prophet; to offer himself a sacrifice upon the 
cross as our priest, and to burst the chains of death and 
triumphantly ascend into heaven, as king and head of the 
church. The omissions, therefore, can be of no real 
consequence, since these are written that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and 
that, believing, ye might have life through his name." 

During the obscure state of our blessed Eedeemer at 
Nazareth, the emperor Augustus died at Campania, after 
a long reign of above fort}^ years, to the general regret 
of the whole Roman empire. He was succeeded by 
Tiberius, his son, a prince of very different temper of 
mind from his predecessor. The emperor, in the second 
year of his reign, recalled Rufus from the government 
of Judea, and sent Valerius Gracchus (Gratus) to succeed 
him. After reigning eleven years, Gracchus was re- 
called, and succeeded by Pontius Pilate, a person 
resembling in disposition his master Tiberius, who was 
malicious, cruel, and covetous. 

Soon after Pontius Pilate was appointed to the govern- 
ment of Judea, John the Baptist began to open his 
commission for preparing our Saviour's way before him, 
according as was appointed, by preaching " the baptism 
of repentance for the remission of sins." Sacred history 
has not informed us of the manner in which the Baptist 
spent the former part of his life ; but, according to an- 
cient tradition, Elizabeth, hearing of Herod's barbarous 
massacre of the infants of Bethlehem, fled into the 
wilderness to secure the infant John from the relentless 
cruelty of that inhuman monster, and there nurtured 
him with all the tenderness of an affectionate mother. 
John the Baptist was about eighteen months old when 



48 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



his mother fled with him into the wilderness, within 
forty days after which she died. 

John proved very successful in his ministry, as he 
enforced the doctrine of repentance because the kingdom 
of heaven was at hand : persons of all degrees and pro- 
fessions flocked to him, confessed their sins, were 
baptized in Jordan,* and submitted to whatever the 
prophet prescribed as necessary to obtain an inheritance 
in that kingdom the approach of which he came to 
declare. Among the crowds were many of the Phari- 
sees and Sadducees, some of whom confessed their sins 
and were likewise baptized in Jordan. f 

* Lieutenant Lynch of the United States navy, who, in 1848, explored 
the river J ordan from its source to its mouth, tells us that though it is 
but sixty miles in a direct line south from the sea of Galilee to the Dead 
Sea, it is two hundred miles by the winding course of the stream. The 
width of the river varies, at different points, from seventy-five to two hun- 
dred feet, and its depth from three feet to twelve. Its waters are cool 
and soft. It may be crossed in ordinary seasons at several fords. Judges 
iii. 28. 

t The Pharisees were the Traditionists, the Sadducees, the Rationalists 
of the day. The former valued themselves on their orthodoxy, the latter 
on their liberalism. The Pharisees paid the greatest attention to pious 
appearance, the Sadducees were satisfied of their superiority to vulgar 
prejudice. The one boasted of his venerable forms of religion, the other 
of the reasonableness of his opinions. The Pharisees reproached the 
Sadducees for heterodoxy, the Sadducees retorted upon them by the 
charge of bigotry. Both courted power ; but the chief object of the 
Pharisee was the praise of men, while that of the Sadducee was pleasure. 
The former were superstitious, the latter skeptical. Pride was the ruling 
sin of the Pharisee, profligacy marked the character of the Sadducee. 
The Pharisees were covetous, the Sadducees cruel. Under the profession 
of piety, both were equally remote from the religion of the heart, and 
opposed alike to the spiritual claims of the Law and the sovereign grace 
of the Gospel. 

The reader, by turning to the twenty-first chapter of this volume, will find 
full details of their peculiar tenets, as given by Josephus and others. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



49 



The conversion of the Pharisees surprised the Baptist, 
knowing that they maintained a high opinion of their 
own sanctity, for which reason it was very astonishing 
that they should express any desire of obtaining a re- 
mission of their sins. In short, he was much surprised 
to find the whole nation so affected by his threatenings, 
especially as he knew they expected salvation on account 
of their being of the seed of Abraham — a conceit which 
they cherished, and which they seem to have derived 
from a misinterpretation of the following passage : 
^'Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light 
by day, and the ordinance of the moon and the stars for 
a light by night ; v/ho divideth the sea when the waves 
thereof roar ; the Lord of Hosts is his name : If those 
ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then 
the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation 
before me forever. Thus saith the Lord : If the heaven 
above can be measured and the foundation of the earth 
searched out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of 
Israel for all that they have done." 

But the Baptist, to curb their arrogance, called them 
the " offspring of vipers," instead of the children of 

With few exceptions, as appears from the evangelical and civil history of 
the time, they v^^ere, as expounders of the Divine law, "fools and blind," 
as professors of religion, "hypocrites," and as members of society, "a 
generation of vipers," equally subtle and venomous. Hence the chief 
success of John was not among these sects, although they were attracted 
for a time to his solemn and thrilling ministry. "Many of the children 
of Israel did he turn to the Lord their God," but they were of the humbler 
classes. "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified 
God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and 
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not bap- 
l/zed of him." Such is the explicit testimony of our Lord himself. Imko 
fii. 29, 30. 

4 



50 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



Abraham. Perhaps the Pharisees and Sadducees applied 
to John for baptism, thinking by that means to avoid 
the danger they might incur from being the avowed 
enemies of the Messiah, whom they expected to come iu 
all the pomp of royalty, and to maintain his superiority 
by force of arms. 

Throughout the whole of the Baptist's ministration, 
he happily adapted his discourses to the circumstances 
and capacities of the various people he addressed, and 
took every pious means to prepare them for the recep- 
tion of the promised Messiah, who was shortly to appear 
ctmong them in the glorious character of Saviour and 
Eedeemer of Israel. 

Thus, by a life of inflexible virtue, discourses nervous 
and pathetic, exhortations sincere and fervent, and re- 
bukes honest and courageous, the Baptist became 
renowned throughout the region of Judea. Such was 
the admiration of the people at his life and doctrine 
that, from the vision of his father, Zacharias, in the 
temple, the arrival of the Magi at Jerusalem, and the 
prophecies of Simeon (circumstances recent in their 
memories), they began to conjecture that John might le 
the promised Messiah, and were even ready to pro- 
nounce him the Eedeemer of Israel; so that, had he 
aspired to worldly dignity, he might, for a time, have 
shone in all the grandeur of human pomp, and claimed 
a regard superior to the sons of men. But, pious in 
principle and humble in heart, he could not arrogate 
honors of which he was conscious of his unworthiness ; 
and therefore honestly undeceived his numerous followers 
by assuring them that, so far from being the glorious 
Person promised, he was only his forerunner ; and that 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 51 

such was his own inferiority that he was unworthy of 
doing his most menial offices. I indeed baptize you 
with water ; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet 
of whose shoes I am unworthy to loose." Luke iii. 16. 

During the time of the Baptist's continuance at 
Bethabara, the blessed Jesus left his retirement at 
Nazareth, and previous to his public ministry, repaired 
to the banks of the river Jordan, where John was 
executing his commission for him, in order to be thus 
baptized by him. We cannot impute this conduct of 
our Lord to any necessity there was of his conforming 
to the institution of baptism, for purity needs no clean- 
sing : it is therefore evident that his motive was to add 
a sanction to that ordinance, forever after appointed to 
be the initiating rite of Christianity, " Go, baptize all 
nations," etc. 

It appears that John immediately, as it were by a 
prophetic revelation, knew the Saviour of the world ; 
for we find from the evangelist that he acknowledged 
his superiority, and declined the office : I have need 
to be baptized of thee ; and comest thou to me ?" Our 
Lord's answer, though short, is very full and expressive : 

Suffer it to be so now ; for thus it becometh us to 
fulfil all righteousness." As if he had said, Regard not 
the precedence at this time, but perform thy office ; for 
it is necessary that we should, in the minutest point, 
conform to the divine will by which this institution is 
enjoined. 

This remonstrance removed the objections of John, 
and he baptized the immaculate Jesus in the river 
Jordan in the presence of numerous spectators. 

When the ceremony was performed, as he needed 



52 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



not the instructions usually given on the occasion, he 
went up straightway out of the water, and, kneeling on 
the bank of the river, fervently addressed his Almighty 
Father for an abundant effusion of his Holy Spirit, as 
he was now entering on his public ministry, the pre- 
lude of his important mission — the end of which was 
ihe salvation of mankind. 

His prayer was heard, his request was granted, and 
an immediate attestation of the divine pleasure given 
by a visible ray of glory around him, proceeding from 
the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and an audible 
voice pronouncing these words, This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased." This voice resem- 
bled not any human sound, but was loud and awful, like 
the thunder of heaven, in order to strike with rever- 
ence the surrounding multitude, and publicly declare the 
holy mission of the promised Messiah. 

The blessed J esus was declared in the Old Testament 
to be the Son of God, but was on this occasion declared 
by the Almighty himself to be the long expected de- 
liverer of Israel. Thus all who were present at this 
marvellous descent of the Holy Spirit were amply con- 
vinced of the divine mission of our blessed Lord by an 
infallible testimony from above. This remarkable 
event tended much more to the glory of the Messiah 
than all the prophecies, as it was in some measure a reaJ 
display of what they could only picture in the dark. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



53 



CHAPTER lY. 

COMMENCEMENT OF OUR SAVIOUR'S MINISTRY — HIS TEMPTA- 
TION IN THE WILDERNESS DEPUTATION OF THE SANHE- 
DRIM TO JOHN THE BAPTIST FIRST MIRACLE WROUGHT 

BY THE BLESSED JESUS. 

The great Redeemer, having thus complied with the 
institution of baptism, and received a most convincing 
testimony of his heavenly Father's approbation, by the 
miraculous descent and effusion of the Holy Ghost upon 
him while praying on the banks of the Jordan in the 
presence of a multitude of spectators, entered on his 
public ministry at the age of thirty years, according to 
the custom of the priests among the Jews. 

It was apprehended by the people that, as he had 
just begun his public office, he would repair to Jerusa- 
lem, the seat of power jtnd grandeur, in order to display 
to the mighty and the learned his miraculous abilities 
and effulgent glories. ^ 

But, averse to human praise, the heavenly-minded 
Jesus preferred solitude to the noise and hurry of mor- 
tal life : he therefore retired into the wilderness in order 
to prepare himself, by fasting, meditation, prayer, and 
sustaining temptation, for the important work on which 
he was entering — the salvation of mankind. 

To promote this grand design, the evangelists write 
that this retirement into the wilderness was in conse- 
quence of the immediate direction of the Divine Spirit. 
Though solitude itself is melancholy, the blessed Jesus 
added to the dismal scene by retiring on a barren spot 



64 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



surrounded by high and craggy mountains and forming 
a dark and gloomy chaos. 

The Saviour of the world has not only been exposed 
to poverty and ridicule, but also to the most trying 
temptation of Satan ; that, as the Captain of our salva- 
tion has undergone the same, we ought not to faint 
when we are tempted, but, like him, be able to with- 
stand the fiery darts of the devil. 

It doubtless appears highly proper, in order that our 
blessed Lord and Master might both enter upon and 
prosecute his ministry with more glory to himself and 
advantage to mankind, that he should previously over- 
come the most subtle arts of that deceiver who, under 
the mask of a serpent, seduced our first parents and in- 
volved them and their posterity in one common ruin.* 

The peculiar devices of the old serpent to tempt the 
Son of God during the time of his fasting are not re- 
corded in Holy Writ, and consequently they cannot be 
ascertained. 

But, at the expiration of the forty days, when the 
blessed Jesus had endured the^ keenest hunger, the 
tempter, to make proof of the divinity of his mission, 
insolently demanded why he bore the sensations of 
hunger, since, if he was the Son of God, he must have 



* How just and forcible are the remarks of Mr. Eobertson : " You must 
remember his soul was preparing for his work ; he was forecasting the 
trials of his life ; his spirit was silently acquiescing in and recognizing his 
destiny ; and one by one dismissing the alternatives which suggested 
themselves — a life of ease instead of hardness : rashness and distrustful 
impetuosity instead of the slow, patient toil of years, and after that of cen- 
turies ; homage to ' the splendid majesty of wrong' — expediency in some 
form or other to make the kingdoms of the world his own — instead of un 
compromising worship of the good." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



55 



power to .change the stones of that dreary wilderness 
into bread ; and, by so marvellous a transmutation, he 
might have the satisfaction of knowing the truth of 
what was said concerning him at his baptism.* 

But our blessed Saviour repelled his device by citing 
the words of Moses, which implied that God, whenever 
it seemed good in his sight, could, by extraordinary 
means, provide for the support of the human race. 
" Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
of God." Luke iv. 4. 

Satan, being defeated in his effort, took him to the 
top of a very high mountain,-}- and, thinking to work on 
him by another artifice, showed him a bright vi^w of 
all the kingdoms of the world, with all their alluring 
glories, promising him universal empire over the whole 
if he would bow down and yield him the honor of the 
benefaction. 

But observe his accursed pride and arrogance in pro- 
mising that which is the gift of God alone — universal 
empire over the earth ; and requiring what was due to 
none but the Supreme — religious homage.J This blas- 

* " What was the temptation ? To use Divine power to procure com- 
fort; to choose abundance instead of stones; a hfe of ease instead of the 
hard rock on which the highest must repose in this world " — Rohertson. 

t Our author here follows the order of St. Luke in preference to that 
of Matthew and Mark. We cannot but think the latter order of the 
temptations the most natural, especially as it then closes with the stern 
rebuke of our Lord, which drives the Tempter from his presence. 

X No one has pointed out the force of this temptation so clearly as 
Neander in his Life of Christ : " Herein was the temptation that the 
Messiah should not develop his kingdom gradually and in its pure spiritu- 
ality from within, but establish it at once as an outward dominion; an(f 
that although this could not be accomplished without the use of an evil 
agency, the end would justify the means. We find here the principW 



56 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



phemy, as well as insolence, incited the blessed Jesus to 
exert his divine authority and command him, in a per- 
emptory manner, to desist; citing this special injunc- 
tion from sacred writ, Thou shalt worship the Lord 
thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Thus re- 
pelled, he repeated the attempt, and, having taken our 
Lord to Jerusalem, placed him on the pinnacle of the 
temple, and, by a taunt of insolence, urged him to prove 
the truth of his mission by casting himself down from 
thence ; citing, as an encouragement for him to comply 
with his desire, a text from the Psalms : "If thou be the 
Son of God, cast thyself down ; for it is written. He 
shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in 
their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time 
thou dash thy foot against a stone." Matt. iv. G. But 
our Saviour soon baffled this attempt by another apt 
quotation from Scripture : " Thou shalt not tempt the 
Lord thy God." Matt. iv. 7. Thou shalt not provoke 
the Lord, either by disobeying his command or by an 
impertinent curiosity to know more concerning his 
mind and will than he is pleased to reveal.* 

that to try to establish Messiah's kingdom as an outward, worldly- 
dominion, is to wish to turn the kingdom of God into the kingdom of the 
devil, and to employ that fallen intelligence which pervades all human 
sovereignties, only in a different form, to found the kingdom of Christ." 

* The scene of this temptation, the pinnacle, or rather battlement 
ol the temple, deserves consideration. By the Jewish law, the roof of 
e"\ ery private dwelling, for the safety of the inmates, was to be surrounded 
by a wall or parapet ; and, according to Josephus, this was the case with 
the temple. On the east side, where the descent was perpendicular into 
the deep valley of the Kedron, the top of this parapet was not far from 
six hundred feet, and one standing there could scarcely see the objects 
below from the dizzy height. What a spot was this for the purpose of 
the Tempter ! And observe, he urges the Son of God to thi^ act of arro- 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



57 



Thus baffled in all his arts and devices by the wisdom 
and power of the Son of God, he departed from him, 
and a host of celestial spirits, despatched from the re- 
gions of bliss, came and ministered refreshment to 
our Saviour after his victory over the great enemy of 
his Father and of mankind. 

Hence, notwithstanding the ridicule of the infidel. 
Christians may derive great encouragement to fight 
manfully against the flesh, the world, and the devil, 
under the banner of the great Captain of their salvation, 
who is ever ready to supply them wdth spiritual armor 
to sustain the combat with that inveterate and subtle 
foe whose devices he has experienced — being in every 
respect tempted like them.* 

gant presumption by a quotation from Ibe Scripture, so artfully cited and 
mutilated as to make it seem a promise of Divine support in the most im- 
warrantable undertaking. The words " in all thy ways" which are evi- 
dently intended to restrict the promise to the course of duty, wisdom, and 
prudence, are dropped in the quotation of the passage by the devil, who 
here shows himself an expert in " wresting the Scriptures." Let us so 
study the Scriptures, that we may be able, like our Lord, to detect the 
artifices of the Tempter, when he comes to us in tlie form of an angel ot 
light. 

To act without a Divine warrant in the word of God, or without prayer 
for Divine direction in our daily affairs ; to borrow from former self-denial 
a plea for present indulgence, or a proud presumption of the Divine 
favor in all our projects, right or wrong, wise or imwise, is to fall into the 
snare of the devil. When we see " the sons of God" marry merely for 
beauty; Noah overcome by excess; Lot dwelling in Sodom for gain; 
Uzzah touching the ark of the covenant ; David gazing from the roof of 
his palace into the bath of his neighbor, well may we continually pray, 
^^Lead us not into temptation.'''' 

* Temptation varies its form with age, sex, talents, temperament, con- 
dition, and social relations ; and we may sometimes regard our own 
temptation as quite peculiar, and without any precedent in the experience 
of Christ. But in this thought we forget his perfect humanity, his rcpre- 
icntative character, and exquisite sensibility and sympathy. When 

1 



58 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



During the time of our Saviour's retirement in the 
wilderness, his faithful harbinger, the Baptist, being 
assured, from the miraculous descent of the Holy Spirit 
and other concurring testimonies, that Jesus was the 
promised and long-expected Messiah, continued publish- 
ing his mission to the multitude ; so that the rulers in 
Jerusalem received information of the surprising events 
that had happened in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, before 
they saw the blessed Jesus, in confirmation of whose 
mission and doctrine they were effected. Prompted by 
curiosity, they despatched a deputation of priests and 
Levites to the Baptist, to demand of him who he was ; 
whether he was the Messiah or Elias, or a prophet risen 
from the dead to precede the Messiah^ the powerful 
Prince so earnestly expected by the whole nation of 
Israel. 

The Baptist frankly replied that he was not the Mes- 
siah whom they expected, nor Elias, who, as they had 
vainly thought, would personally appear among them, 
nor any other prophet risen from the dead ; but, at the 
same time, hinted to them that, though he was not 
Elias himself, yet he was that person spoken of by the 
prophet Isaiah, and him of whom he thus prophesied : 

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Pre- 
pare ye the way of the Lord : make straight in the 
desert a highway for our God." Isa. xl. 3. 

The priests and Levites, not sufficiently gratified with 
this reply of the Baptist, demanded of him why he as- 
sumed the powder of baptizing the people if he was 
neither the Messiah, nor Elias, nor any of the ancient 

tempted to any sins of the flesh, we must think of his hunger ; to an^' 
sins of the spirit, of his position on the temple ; to any sins of society, of 
his undazzled survey of all the glories of the world. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



59 



prophets risen from the dead.^' To this demand, John 
answered, I indeed baptize to show the necessity of re- 
pentance : but my baptism is only that of water, and 
wholly ineffectual of itself to the remission of sins ; but 
that washing foretold by Zechariah is of sovereign effect if 
it is not my province, but solely that of the Messiah, 
who is actually upon earth and among you, though ye 
know him not, because he hath not yet manifested him- 
self to the world. The Messiah is so far exalted beyond 
me in power and dignity that I am not worthy to do 
him the meanest offices. 

The day after the departure of the priests and 
Levites from Bethabara, our blessed Lord left the wil- 
derness and repaired thither himself, while John was 
yet baptizing and preaching the doctrine of repentance. 

The Baptist, as his grand business was to direct all 
persons to the Messiah for life and salvation in and 
through him, embraced this seasonable opportunity of 
pointing him out to the multitude : Behold the Lamb 
of God, which taketh away the sins of the world !" Lest 
the attending crowd should surmise that it had been 
previously concerted between Jesus and John, that the 
former should assume, and the latter give him, the ap- 
pellation of Messiah, he publicly and solemnly declared 
that he was, equally with them, ignorant of the preten- 

* This seems to settle the question, often discussed on other grounds, 
whether the baptism of John belonged to the Levitical dispensation, and 
was administered by John as a priest. The very inquiry here proposed 
by the delegation from Jerusalem, shows that they did not at all regard 
it in that light, but rather as a new institute which could be administered 
rightfully only by a new Divine commission. Such a commission John 
expressly claimed. 

t See Zech. xiii. 1. 



60 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



sions of Jesus to that high character* till he saw the 
descent of the Holy Ghost, and heard him pronounced, 
in the most awful manner, the Son of God : And John 
hare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from 
heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I 
knew him not : but He that sent me to baptize with 
water, the same said unto me. Upon whom thou shalt 
see the Spirit descending and remaining, the same is he 
which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and 
bare record that this is the Son of God." John i. 32-34. 

The Baptist having made this declaration, the Mes- 
siah left Bethabara, but returned the day following; 
and John, happening to stand with two of his followers 
on the bank of the river . Jordan, pointed to him as he 
passed, arid, in a pious rapture, repeated what he had 
addressed to the multitude the preceding day : Behold 
the Lamb of God !" It is hence imagined that these 
two disciples or followers of the Baptist were absent at 
the time of the descent of the Holy Ghost, and for that 
reason this method was taken of pointing out to them 
the venerable person of the Redeemer of the world. 

Animated with an ardent desire of hearing, as well as 
seeing, this extraordinary person, they left John and 
followed Jesus, who, conscious of their design, turned 
about, and, with the utmost affability, gave them an 

* This is by no means inconsistent with the language of John to Jesus 
before the baptism. He might have heard enough of the character of 
Jesus from others, to feel his own inferiority ; or the prophetic impulse 
might have suddenly anticipated the evidence which was afterward giv«n 
by the appointed sign. He, therefore, spoke then as he felt, without the 
certainty of knowledge which was necessary to assure both himself and 
others of the Messiahship of Jesus. Not till the Spirit descended visibly 
upon Jesus, did John know him, beyond a doubt, as the Son of God. 



r 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 61 

invitation to the place of his residence. The evangelist 
John informs us that one of these disciples was Andrew, 
the brother of Simon Peter ; and it is conjectured from 
his silence that himself was the other ; for it is remark- 
able thatj in his writings,. he has studiously concealed his 
own name. Be that as it may, it is abundantly evident 
that the testimony of the Baptist, added to the tokens 
he had from the blessed Jesus in the course of his con- 
verse with him, amply satisfied Andrew that he was 
indeed the promised Messiah, the Saviour and Redeemer 
of a lost and perishing world. 

Andrew soon after found his brother Peter and brought 
him to our blessed Lord, who immediately called him by 
his name, telling him that he should afterward be called 
Cephas (which signifies a rock), from his firm resolu- 
tion of mind, and ' also because he should contribute to- 
ward the foundation of the Christian church. 

Some time after, Jesus met with Philip, an inhabitant 
of the town of Bethsaida, and said unto him, Follow 
me." Philip immediately obeyed the divine command, 
having heard of the character and mission of our 
blessed Saviour. It is supposed that this disciple was 
present at the miraculous descent of the Holy Spirit on 
our Lord at his baptism, which being admitted, his 
compliance with his call is no matter of admiration. 

Philip, meeting with Nathanael, an inhabitant of Cana, 
a town in Galilee, informed him of the actual coming 
of the long-expected Messiah, that great Deliverer of 
Israel spoken of by Moses and the ancient prophets, 

Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael 
was assured, from the predictions concerning the Mes- 
siah, that he was to be descended from the line of David 



62 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and bom in the city of Bethlehem, and therefore dis- 
covered an amazement at his being called Jesus of 
Nazareth : Can any good thing come out of Naza- 
reth?"* Can that most contemptible of places, Naza- 
reth, be supposed to have given birth to the mighty 
Saviour, the Prince of Peace, especially as it was ex- 
pressly foretold by the prophet that he was to be born 
in Bethlehem, the city of David ? 

Notwithstanding the improbability of such an event, 
Nathanael listened to Philip, and determined on an ex- 
amination of the person whom he said was the promised 
Messiah. Accordingly, under his direction, he repaired 
to the blessed Jesus, who, knowing his character, saluted 
him on his approach with this honorable appellation : 
" Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile !" 

Nathanael, amazed at our Lord's pertinent address, 
as he had never before seen him, asked by what means 
he obtained such precise knowledge of him. Our Lord 
replied, he had seen him under the fig-tree. Probably 
Nathanael had been praying under the fig-tree, and 
been overheard by our Lord, who, from the substance of 
his prayer, thus concluded his character ; for when the 
blessed Jesus informed him that he gave him that char- 
acter on account of what had passed under the fig-tree, 
Nathanael perceived that he knew not only what had 
passed at a distance, but had access to the inmost 
thoughts of the heart, a property not allotted to mortals, 
and therefore exclaimed, with rapture, ^"^Kabbi, thou 
art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel." 



* Nothing could more mark the meanness and general bad reputation of 
Nazareth than this language of Nathanael, who lived within a few milei 
of the place. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



63 



Our Saviour then told him he should hereafter have 
much stronger testimonials of the divinity of his mis- 
sion, when he should be eye-witness to what the old 
patriarch Jacob had before seen in a vision — the angels 
of heaven descending and ascending, to attend the per- 
son and execute the commands of the Son of Man : an 
appellation our blessed Lord assumed, not only as con- 
sidering his humanity, but in order to fulfil most per- 
emptorily that remarkable prediction of the prophet 
Daniel concerning him : I saw in the night visions, 
and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the 
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and 
they brought him near before him. And there was 
given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages should serve him; his 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not 
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed." Dan. vii. 13, 14. 

The great Redeemer, having attested the divinity 
of his mission by many incontestable evidences, and 
made five disciples, departed for Galilee, where, soon 
after his arrival, he was invited, with his mother and 
disciples, to a marriage-feast at Cana, a place near 
Nazareth. At these nuptials there happened to be a 
scarcity of wine, and his mother, who interested herself 
in the conduct of the feast, and was therefore desirous 
that every thing should be done with decorum, applied 
to her Son, hoping he would be able to remedy the de- 
fect. She had doubtless conceived he had the power of 
working miracles, and was therefore desirous that he 
would give proof of his ability in the presence of her 
friends, who were assembled at the marriage. 



64 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Addressing herself, therefore^ to her Son, she told him 

They have no wine." Our Lord gently reproved her, 
in these words : Woman, what have I to do with 
thee?* mine hour is not yet come :" that is, The time 
or period of my public ministry is not yet arrived ; nor 
is 'it time for me to display my supernatural powers. 

Notwithstanding this mild reproof, his mother still 
entertained an opinion that he would interest himself 
in behalf of her and the company, and therefore ordered 
the servants punctually to obey his commands. 

Our blessed Lord, being assured that working a 
miracle would greatly tend to confirm the faith of his 
young disciples, exerted his divine power, by ordering 
the servants to fill six water-pots, containing each about 
twenty gallons, with water ; which was no sooner done 
than the whole was converted into excellent wine.f 

He then ordered them to draw, and bear to the 

* There is nothing necessarily harsh in the word " woman," as here 
used by our Lord. Even on the cross, when most tenderly committing 
his mother to the care of his beloved disciple, he used the same word in 
his address to her. Yet here, in connection with the words which fol 
low, it takes a tone of solemn majesty; as if he had said, " Eememb>3r, my 
mother, what you are, and that in the higher relation I sustain to my 
heavenly Father, I must act, not under your dictation, but solely in obe- 
dience to his commission." What a protest was this against that false 
confidence, amounting to actual idolatry, which has since been taught in 
the intercession of Mary ! 

t It was an ancient tradition, that this marriage took place at the 
house of Cleophas, or Alpheus, the brother-in-law of the Yirgin, or at 
least her near relation, and that the bridegroom was his son, " Simon, the 
Cananite," afterward one of our Lord's apostles. If so, then it naturally 
accounts for the presence of Jesus, and for the interest expressed by 
Mary in the want of wine sufficient for the feast, which, as usual, was of a 
week's duration. But it will not account for our Lord's consent to put 
forth his miraculous power for the relief of their poverty, nor for the 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



65 



governor of the feast; who, being ignorant of the 
miracle that had been wrought, and astonished at the 
preference of this wine to that which had been served 
up at the beginning of the feast, addressed himself to 
the bridegroom, in the hearing of the whole company, 
telling him that, contrary to the usual custom, he had 
reserved the best wine to the last; at the samt; time 
commending so judicious a practice, as a plain proof of 
his approbation of his friends present at the entertain- 
ment. The bridegroom was equally surprised at the 
address of the governor of the feast, and the occasion of 
it, which was effected by the supernatural power of our 
blessed Lord. 

This miracle, which was the first wrought by Jesus, 
confirmed the faith of his followers, and spread his re- 
nown through the adjacent country. On leaving Cana 
he departed toward Jerusalem, to attend the approach- 
ing Passover. 

great quantity furnished, which, far exceeded the demand for the occasion, 
and must have been an ample supply for domestic use for a long time to 
come. Higher motives governed his action in this case. 

The true design of the miracle was threefold : 1. To give a new sanc- 
tion to Marriage under the Christian dispensation ; 2. To manifest the 
Saviour's glory as the sovereign Lord of nature ; and 3. To confirm the 
faith of his disciples in his divine mission, and his power to help in every 
time of need. 

This miracle shows that the use of wine, under some circumstances, 
and in some degree, is lawful. But it does not prove its habitual use as a 
beverage obligatory, or even expedient, where it is likely to become a 
Bnare to ourselves or a stumbling-block to others. So the question o<" 
Temperance is finally decided by Christian love, in Romans xiv. 21. 
5' 



66 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER Y. 

EXPULSION OF THE PEOFANERS OF THE TEMPLE — JESUS CON- 
VERSES WITH NICODEMUS BAPTIZES IN JUDEA INSTRUCTS 

A POOR SAMARITAN — HEALS A SICK PERSON AT CAPER- 
NAUM RETIRES AGAIN TO NAZARETH^ AND IS EXPELLED 

THENCE BY HIS IMPIOUS COUNTRYMEN. 

Our blessed Lord, immediately on his arrival at 
J erusalem, repaired to the temple, where he was shocked 
at beholding a place dedicated to the solemn service of 
Almighty God so prostituted to purposes of fraud and 
avarice, and become the resort of traders of every kind. 
It is evident there must have been a grand market for 
oxen, sheep, and doves at such times, for Josephus tells 
us that no less than two hundred and fifty-six thousand 
victims were offered at one passover.* 

Such abuse could not long escape his notice or cor- 
rection, having an absolute right to chastise so flagrant 
a perversion of a place that, strictly speaking, was his 
own. " The Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come 



* The Passover was the chief annual festival of the Jewish nation. It 
was appointed and kept on the very night they left Egypt, to commemo- 
rate the wonderful deliverance they experienced, when the Angel of the 
Lora passed through the land, and slew all the first-born of the Egyptians. 
Every Hebrew house was passed over unharmed, because, by divine ap- 
pointment, it was sprinkled with the blood of a lamb. The festival fell on 
the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, which corresponds to parts of 
March and April, according to the day of the full of the moon. It was 
attended by the people from all quarters with great zeal, and was con- 
Unued for eight days, including two Sabbaths, Jerusalem was densely 
crowded on these occasions. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



67 



to ais temple ; even the Messenger of the Covenant, 
w] om ye deHght in : behold, he shall come, saith the 
Lg rd of Hosts." 

Accordingly, the blessed Jesus, whose pious soul was 
vexed at their profanation of the sacred place, drove 
out the traders, and overset the tables of the money- 
changers, saying unto them that sold doves, " Take 
these things hence ; make not my father's house a house 
of merchandise." 

These mercenary wretches appear to have been struck 
at once with a consciousness of their guilt and the 
severity of our Lord's reproof, so they immediately de- 
parted without making the least resistance. But, oui: 
Lord's conduct in this affair carrying with it every token 
of zeal, for which the ancient prophets were so remarkar 
ble, the Jewish Council assembled, and determined to 
inquire by what authority he attempted such a reformar 
tion, requiring at the same time a demonstrative proof 
of the divinity of his commission. 

To gratify their curiosity,* our Lord referred them 
only to the miracle of his own resurrection : "Destroy," 
said he, probably laying his hand on his breast, " this 
temple, and I will raise it up in three days." The 
rulers, mistaking his meaning, imagined that he referred 
to the superb and lofty temple finished by Herod, and 

* It strikes us that this answer of Jesus was designed not to gratify 
curiosity at all, but rather to intimate his prophetic knowledge of the 
malice and murder already hidden in their guilty hearts, and which time 
so fully developed when they put him to death. The original word here 
used by Christ, denotes the inner sanctuary — the immediate dwelling- 
place of Deity — and is, hence, peculiarly appropriate to his body as the 
shrine of the Invisible God. " For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily." Col. ii. S 



68 



LIFE' OF CHRIST. 



therefore told him such a destruction was highly im- 
probable, nor had they the least reason to think he 
could possibly rebuild in three days that magnificent 
structure, which had been finished at immense expense 
and was the labor of so many years.* 

Though the blessed Jesus declined compliance with 
the request of the mighty and noble among the inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem, he wrought several miracles in the 
presence of the whole people, in order to confirm the 
doctrines he delivered and prove the divinity of his 
mission. ** 

As there had not been any miracles wrought amongst 
them for a considerable time,f though many were re- 
corded in their sacred books, they beheld our blessed 
Lord with amazement and veneration ; and numbers 
were satisfied that he was the long-promised Messiah, 
^Hhe desire of all nations," so often foretold by the ancient 
prophets. For wise reasons, however, he did not pub- 
licly declare that he was the Great Prophet, as he knew 



^ The temple had been repaired and adorned but a short thue before 
by Herod, at great expense, to conciliate the Jews, as well as to gratify 
his own vanity. He Httle thought he was thus fitting it up for the more 
worthy reception of the Messiah. The work was begun in the twenty-first 
year of his reign, and in eight years the body of the house was finished ; 
but all the outworks, including some new foundations, with the courts, 
corridors, and chambers, were not completed till nearly thirty years after 
his death, that is, forty-six years in all, up to the commencement of our 
Lord's ministry. Some, however, understand the forty-six years here 
mentioned as referring to the time that elapsed from the laying of the 
foundations of the second temple, till its completion under the hands of 
Zerubbabel, and Joshua the high priest. 

t From the time of Malachi the prophet — a period of four hundred 
and thirty-four years— " sixty-two weeks" in the language of Daniera 
famous prophecy. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



69 



that the faith of numbers was yet but weak, and that, 
consequently, many would desert his cause when they 
found he was opposed by the Sanhedrin, or great Council 
of the nation, and did not set up a worldly kingdom, a8 
they thought the expected Messiah was to do. - 

But the miracles wrought by the holy Jesus did not 
excite the wonder and astonishment of the common and 
illiterate class of the people alone. Nicodemus, a prin- 
cipal person among them, impartially reflecting on his 
wondrous works, so astonishing in their nature, so 
demonstrative in their proof, so salufary in their effect, 
so happily adapted to the confirmation of his doctrines, 
and so perfectly agreeable to the attributes of the Deity, 
as well as the predictions of the ancient prophets con- 
cerning the Messiah, '^the Sun of righteousness, who 
was to rise with healing in his wings," was perfectly 
assured that nothing less than Omnipotence itself could 
produce such wonders, and thence, like many others of 
his countrymen, almost concluded that Jesus was of a 
truth the Son, and sent of God — which last term is the 
meaning of the word Messiah. But scruples still arose 
in his mind when, on the other hand, he considered the 
obscurity of his birth and the meanness of his appear- 
ance, so different from the exalted notions the people 
of the J ews always entertained concerning this powerful 
Prince, who was to erect his throne in the mighty city 
of Jerusalem and subject to his dominion all the states 
and kingdoms of the earth. To obviate, therefore, 
these scruples, and solve these perplexing doubts, Nico- 
demus resolved on un interview with the blessed Jesus ; 
but, choosing to conceal his visit from the other mem- 
bers of the Sanhedrin, who were greatly averse^ to bis 



70 



LIFE OF OHmST. 



person and doctrine, he chose the night as most conve- 
nient for that purpose. 

His salutation of the mighty Redeemer of Israel was 
this : " Rabbi, we know that thou "art a teacher come 
from God : for no man can do these miracles that thou 
doest, except God be with him." John iii. 2. Rabbi, 
I am sufficiently convinced that thou art immediately 
sent as a teacher from on high ; for nothing less than 
power divine could enable thee to perform the miracles 
which thou hast wrought in the presence of multitudes. 
But this salutation by no means implies that Nicodemus 
thought Jesus the great promised Messiah, even the 
Redeemer of Israel ; nor could he obtain that knowledge 
effectually till it was revealed to him by the blessed 
Spirit of God. 

We may observe that our Saviour, waiving all formal- 
ity and circumlocution, which tend to no real profit, 
immediately preaches to this disguised rabbi the first 
great doctrine of Christianity, regeneration : " Yerily, 
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again he 
cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus, I declare 
unto thee, as a truth of the last importance : verily, 
verily, unless a man be regenerated in the spirit of his 
mind, have his will and affections transferred from 
earthly to spiritual objects, he cannot see the kingdom 
of God, which is holy and spiritual in its nature and 
enjoyments. 

This was a mysterious doctrine to the rabbi, whose 
religious views extended no further than to rites and 
ceremonies, and were bounded by time and space. Be- 
sides, he thought the very position of our Lord an 
absurdity in terms. How can a man be born when 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



71 



he is old ? Can he enter a second time into his mother's 
womb, and be born ?" Our Lord replies to this ques- 
tion, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The re- 
generation which I preach unto you is not of a bodily, 
but of a spiritual nature : unless a man embraces the 
Christian religion and doctrines, whose initiating ordi- 
nance is baptism, and becomes a subject of divine grace, 
he cannot be the subject of that glory, which consists 
not in earthly splendor and the gratification of the 
meaner passions, but in an exemption from whatever is 
earthly, sensual, and devilish, and the prosecution of 
whatever is heavenly, holy, and spiritual. " That 
which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is 
born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto 
thee. Ye must be born again wonder not at my doc- 
trine of regeneration, which is designed to inform you 
that you derive no excellence from your boasted descent 
from Abraham — as such, you are merely earthly, sub- 
ject to sins and infirmities of every kind — as well as to 
show that you must undergo a spiritual mental regener- 
ation, a renovation of the heart, which changes the 
whole man and fits you for the participation of heavenly 
blessedness. 

This important work is ^likewise spiritual in its opera- 
tion, unseen by mortal eyes, being wrought on the 
mind or heart of man by the powerful influence of the 
Holy Spirit, which changes his nature, and, with respect 
to eternal things, makes him another, a new creature. 

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou liearest 
the sound thereof, but canst not tell ^\ hence it cometh, 



72 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of 
the Spirit." 

Notwithstanding this explanation of the blessed Jesus, 
Nicodemus was so prepossessed with partiality toward 
the Jews, who, on account of their alliance to Abraham, 
thought they were the people of God, entitled to heaven, 
and consequently in no need of this new operation of 
the mind, called regeneration, that he again demanded, 

How can these things be ?" The divine instructor 
then reproves his dulness and misapprehension of what 
he had so clearly explained and propounded to him, 
especially as he was himself a teacher of the people, 
and one of the great Council of the nation. '^Art thou 
a master of Israel, and knowest not these things ?" The 
doctrines I deliver are not fiction and mere surmise, but 
founded on eternal truth, immediately revealed from 
God, and consistent with the will of Heaven. I am 
witness to the same, and therefore afiirm that such testi- 
mony is sufficient to render them valid. But your preju- 
dices still prevail, nor can your belief be conquered by 
all the arguments I can advance. We speak that we 
do know, and testify that we have seen and ye receive 
not our witness." 

* It would seem from this emphatic language of our Lord, that he had 
personally witnessed the great chang'e which he denominates the New 
Birth. This shows that it was already visible in its effects on individuals 
of his acquaintance. And who could these individuals be, if not the dis- 
ciples of John, including those who had already become his own personal 
followers — Andrew and Peter, James and John, Philip and Nathaniel ? 
This accords with the prophecy of the Angel as to the effect of the minis- 
try of John the Baptist : " Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to 
the Lord his God ;" for such conversion to God certainly imphes regen- 
eration. See Luke i. 16 ; 1 John ii. 29. 

If this be so, it shows conclusively the great mistake of those who con- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



73 



If ye thus reject the first principles of the Christian 
religion, such as the necessity of regeneration, or the in- 
fluence of the Spirit of God upon the heart of man, how 
will ye believe the sublimer truths I shall hereafter 
deliver concerning the kingdom of God, or state of the 
saints in glory ? If I inform you of spiritual trans- 
actions in this lower world, and ye believe not, how can 
ye believe if I tell you of those things which relate 
solely to another and heavenly state ? But, to confirm 
your belief in what I have delivered, know that my 
assured knowledge of these things is derived from the 
Father of Light, the God of Truth, by whom I am in- 
vested with gifts superior to any of the ancient prophets. 
No man hath ascended the regions of immortality, and 
descended from thence, but ^'the Son of Man:" conse- 
quently, no man but the Son of Man" can, with truth 
and certainty, reveal the immediate will of the Father, 
who is in heaven. Your great lawgiver Moses ascended 
not there : Mount Sinai was the summit of his eleva- 
tion ; whereas the Son of Man, who was in heaven, and 
came down from thence with a divine commission to 
sinful mortals, had the most clear and convincing proofs 
of the will of his Almighty Father, penetrated into the 
designs of infinite wisdom and grace, and consequently 
must be higher than any prophet, being in a peculiar 
sense the Prophet of the most high God, or Angel of 
the Presence. 

This divine preacher, who spake as no man ever 



found the baptism of the Holy Ghost with regeneration ; for that gracious 
enlargement and overflow of the spiritual life was an event yet future, re- 
served till the day of Pentecost, to glorify the ascended Saviour. John 
vii. 39; xvi. 7. Acts i. 4, 5 ; ii. 1-4. 



74 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



spake, likewise labors to eradicate the favorite principle 
of the Jews: I mean, that of confining all blessings, 
temporal and eternal, to their own nation and people • 
as well as to show the vanity of their expecting the ap- 
pearance of the Messiah in pomp and magnificence.* 

To effect this glorious design, he lays open to the 
rabbi that it was agreeable both to the doctrines of 
Moses, as well as to the will of God, that the Redeemer, 
in this state of mortality, should be exposed to poverty 
and distress of every kind ; that his conquests were not 
to be of a temporal nature, but over the hearts and wills 
of mankind ; that his throne was not to be established 
in the earthly, but heavenly Jerusalem; previous to 
which he w^as to shed his blood, as, by virtue of the 
same, all of every nation and kingdom throughout the 
earth might ^ass into the heavenly world, and there, 
provided they relied on his merits and conformed their 
lives to the doctrines he preached, forever, enjoy that 
summit of bliss which through his sufferings was pro- 
vided for them, by God himself, to all eternity. 

This is the sum and substance of Christianity ; this 
is the sum and substance of what our blessed Lord 
preached to Nicodemus, that great ruler and teacher of 
the Jews ; a sermon comprehending the whole of what 
need be taught, notwithstanding religion is at this day 

* How completely the Jews of that age (with few exceptions, as 
Zacharias and Simeon), had lost sight of the grand spiritual mission of 
their nation, and of the Messiah himself, is seen in this very narrowness 
and bigotry of spirit. Had they read the promises to their fathers 
aright; had they at all entered into the true spirit of their own Psalms 
and of their prophets, they must have perceived that in the seed of Abra- 
ham "all the families of the earth were to be blessed," and would have 
exulted, like Paul, afterward in the glorious prospect. Rom. xv. 9-12. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



75 



rent to pieces by sectaries, each of whom invents some 
new-fangled doctrine, suggested by ignorance, presump- 
tion, or both united. 

God Almighty, the Father, out of his own unsup- 
plicated, unmerited grace and mercy to the sinful race 
of men, sent his only-begotten Son to purchase eternal 
life, through the effusion of his own blood, for all of 
every nation and kingdom throughout the earth who 
should believe in him ; that is, who should believe in 
the divinity of his mission, the efficacy of his atonement, 
and, in consequence of that faith, conform to the rules 
of his gospel. Only let your conversation be as be- 
come th the gospel of Christ." Condemnation, justly 
passed on all transgressors of the law of God (which are 
all mankind) can alone be averted, according to the 
divine institution, the propriety of which it is the height 
of impiety and presumption to call in question, by faith 
in the blessed Jesus. Such a faith we have just ex- 
plained. " He that belie veth on him is not condemned; 
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because 
he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten 
Son of God." 

It appears from the future conduct of Nicodemus, 
that, instead of supposing Jesus to be only "a teacher 
come from God," he was no^ fully convinced that he was 
the Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel ;" for he after- 
ward constantly espoused his cause in the great Council 
of the nation ; and, when his countrymen put him to an 
ignominious death, he, together with Joseph of Arima 
thea, conveyed him to burial, when all others had for- 
saken him. 

The time of the passover at Jerusalem being expired, 



76 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



JesuSj together with his disciples, withdrew into the 
remote parts of Judea,* where he continued a consider- 
able time, preaching the kingdom of God, and baptizing 
the new converts. John the Baptist being also at the 
same time baptizing in the river Enon,-)* a dispute arose 

* It does not appear from the record that Jesus was in any obscurity 
during his first six months' ministry in Judea. On the contrary, it is 
affirmed that in this period, " he made and baptized more disciples than 
John," who had then modestly withdrawn from the Jordan to Enon. 

t Enon is nowhere mentioned as a river in the Scriptures, nor, so far 
as we are aware, by any modern traveller. It is remarkable that no 
ancient writer appears to have identified the spot. Jerome indeed says, 
it was about eight miles south of Scythopolis (the ancient Bethshan), yet 
as no such town as Salim was in that neighborhood, his opinion lacks 
confirmation. All this proves the place was obscure. 

The name Enon signifies a fountain — " The Dove's Fountain" — either 
from its soft, murmuring noise, or from being the resort of those beautiful 
birds. Three things are said by the Evangelist to aid us in finding the 
spot, at once so obscure, and yet so important as the scene of the Bap- 
tist's last labors and last public testimony to Christ. 1. It was near to 
a town called Salim. 2. There was much water there. 3. It was not far 
from Jerusalem ; for a debate arose between John's disciples and the Jews 
of that city, which was referred to him for decision, and was the occasion 
of his most explicit testimony to the honor of Jesus, as from above and 
above all, the Head and Bridegroom of the Church. John iii. 25-36. 

All these conditions unite to fix the place in the valley of the Cherith, 
a tributary of the Jordan ; about six miles northeast of Jerusalem, and 
twelve northwest of Jericho. Dr. Barclay, the discoverer of the spot, 
describes it as a most secluded and charming spot, in a valley called by 
the Arabs, Wady Farmi, or "the Yalley of Delight," about a mile from 
the ruins of Zaleim, or Salim, which are on the summit of a hill to the 
north. Enon consists of a succession of beautiful fountains, broad and 
deep, cool and clear, shaded by overhanging trees. This is undoubtedly 
the spot where Elijah was hidden in the time of Ahab, and where the 
Baptist, for a season, retired from Bethabara, which was in the juris- 
diction of Herod the Tetrarch, perhaps after that prince had taken 
offence at his just reproof. The evidence furnished by Dr. Barclay, seems 
to command the general consent of modern critics. See his "City of the 
Great King;' Philadelphia, 1858. 



i 

j 

LIFE OF CHRIST. 77 

])etween his disciples and certain Jews concerning the 
preference of the baptism of Jesus. 

Being unable to decide the point, they referred it to 
the opinion of John ; on which the pious Baptist imme- 
diately declared that he was only the harbinger of the 
great Messiah, who baptized not only with water but 
with the Holy Spirit; adding that his own ministry 
was on the decline, as the beauty of the morning star, 
the harbinger of the sun, decreases when that fountain 
of life but dawns in the chambers of the east. 

The Baptist likewise mentioned to his disciples and 
hearers many circumstances tending to prove the di\dn- 
ity of the mission of the holy Jesus, and the' important 
design of his incarnation : " He that believeth on the 
Son hath eternal life ; but he that believeth not the Son 
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on 
him." 

The Baptist, having publicly preached the great doc- 
trine of salvation through faith in Jesus, departed from 
the wilderness of Judea, where he had continued a 
considerable time, and went into Galilee, often repairing 
to the court of Herod, who esteemed, or affected to es- 
teem, both his preaching and person.* But John, being 

* Herod Antipas, here mentioned, was a son of Herod the Great, by his 
Samaritan wife, Malthace. On the death of his father, he was appointed 
by Augustus Caesar to the government of Galilee, and of Perea, the region 
east of the lower Jordan. Hence, our Saviour belonged by residence to 
his jurisdiction, and John the Baptist at Bethabara, also, for the time. 
His first wife, daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, he divorced, in order to 
marry Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had seduced 
from her husband. Philip bore the cruel wrong in silence, but Aretas 
waged war against him, and defeated him with great slaughter. This, 
Josephus tells us, was regarded by the Jews as a judgment of God on 
Herod for his crimes against Philip, his divorced wife, and John the Bap- 



78 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 



faithful in his ministry, could not fail to lemonstrate on 
the injustice and impiety of a known practice of Herod. 
— which was his cohabiting with Herodias, his brother 
Philip's wife ; and, thereby incurring the displeasure of 
that ambitious woman, he was at her instance cast into 
prison, and there reserved for future destruction. 

While these things happened in Galilee, our blessed 
Lord continued preaching in the wilderness,* whither 
great numbers resorted, attracted by curiosity to see the 
miracles which fame reported he daily wrought. The 
success of his ministry exciting the envy of the hypo- 
critical tribe of the Pharisees, our blessed Lord thought 
proper to retire into Galilee, in order to promote the de- 
sign of his mission in those parts.f 

In the course of his journey, being weary of travelling 
m so warm a country, and excessively thirsty, he sat 
down in Samaria by a celebrated well given by the old 
patriarch Jacob to his son Joseph, while his disciples 
were gone to the city Sychar to procure provisions. 

While the humble Jesus was sitting by the well-side, 
' a woman, a native of the country, came with her 

tist, whom Herodias had persuaded him to kill, after he had long heard 
him gladly, and done many things because of him ; for he knew he was a 
. just and holy man." As this last act was really against his conscience, 
it filled Herod with remorse and misery. To complete his punishment, 
Herodias persuaded him to go to Eome to get his title of Tetrarch ele- 
vated to that of King (which he sometimes was called by courtesy) ; but 
the result of his journey was his ruin, as the Emperor Claudius, on com- 
plaint of his own brother, Herod Agrippa I., decreed his deposition, ana 
banishment to Lyons, in Graul. Thus Herodias, for whom he had sacri- 
ficed his honor and conscience at first, became his evil genius and scourge 
to the end of life — a fearful example that " the way of transgressors is 
hard." 

See first note, page 76 
t This was lust after .Tohn''5 iinnvisionment about January. A. D. 3L 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



79 



pitcher to fetch water 5 and our Lord requested of her 
to give him to drink. The appearance of Jesus aston- 
ished the woman, because she knew him to be a Jew, 
and the Samaritans were held in the utmost contempt 
by those people, who, indeed, arrogated a preference to 
all nations upon earth. But, though she knew him to 
be a Jew, she knew not that he was the Son of God, 
full of grace and truth, divested of human prejudices, 
and the very essence of humility and every virtue. As 
the design of his mission and incarnation was to promote 
the real happiness of mankind, he embraced every 
opportunity of enforcing his salutary doctrines; and 
therefore, though his thirst was extreme, he delayed 
its gratification, in order to inform this woman, though 
of an infamous character, of the means by which she 
might obtain living water, or, in other words, eternal 
life. As the best method to effect this purpose, he gave 
her to understand that, had she known the character of 
the suppliant, she would have eagerly satisfied his desire, 
and been rewarded by a gift the most invaluable — 
even living water, issuing from the well of eternal sal- 
vation. 

The woman, taking his words in the common accepta- 
tion, imagining that he suggested his power of supplying 
her with water flowing from a perpetual spring, which 
in that parched climate appeared impossible, demanded 
of him if he was vested with a power superior to their 
father Jacob, who dug this well, drank out of it with 
his family, and left it for the benefit of posterity.* 

* A common Jew would have indignantly denied the claim of the Samar- 
itans to a descent from Jacob. But Jesus passed it by without remark, 
Uiat he might not be diverted from his great object. 



80 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



The Saviour and friend of mankind^ still benign in 
his purpose toward this poor sinner, replied that all 
who drank of the water of Jacob's well would thirst 
again, it being but a temporary allay of a desire incident 
to human nature ; whereas those who drank of the 
water which he was ready to dispense should never 
thirst ; because that water flowed from the inexhausti- 
ble Fountain of Divine Grace, and could not be drained 
but with immensity itself. 

Though this great Preacher of Israel, by a simple and 
natural allegory, displayed the power of divine grace, 
the woman, ignorant of the allusion and meaning of the 
blessed J esus, desired of him that water, that she might 
not thirst in future, nor have occasion to come to Jacob's 
well daily for water. 

To show her the nature of sin, and thereby create in 
her soul desires after the water of life, the blessed Jesus, 
by some pertinent questions and replies, evinced his 
knowledge of her infamous course of life, and by that 
means convinced her that he acted under an influence 
more than human. To evade, however, the present 
subject of discourse, which filled her with a degree of 
awe and fear, she proposed for discussion a case long 
warmly contested between the Jews and Samaritans :^ 



* The Samaritans of that age were the descendants of a mixed race of 
Jews and Gentiles — a poor remnant of the ten tribes who had been 
carried away by Shalmanezar, king of Assyria, and colonies of heathen 
tribes transported from different parts of his empire. Their faith and 
worship was mixed, like their origin : " they feared Jehovah, and wor- 
shipped their idol gods." On the return of the Jews from the captivity, 
and the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, they were necessarily ex- 
cluded from the temple worship, and hence became bitter enemies of the 
Jews. They built a temple of their own on Mount Gerizim, where they 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



81 



Whether Mount Gerizim, or the city of Jerusalem, was 
destined by God as the place peculiarly set apart for re- 
ligous worship. Our blessed Lord replied to this in- 
significant question, that it was not the place, but the 
manner, in which adoration was offered to the Father 
of Spirits, that rendered such worship acceptable ; ob- 
serving that " God is a Spirit, and they that worship him 
must worship him in spirit and in truth." John iv. 24. 

In consequence of this reply to her, which apparently 
referred to things spiritual and eternal, she informed the 
blessed Jesus of her expectation of the arrival of the 
promised Messiah, who should punctually inform them 
concerning these points, so long and indecisively con- 
tested. 

Our Lord, embracing the opportunity of preaching 
himself to this poor woman as the Saviour of sinners, 
replied, without hesitation, " I that speak unto thee am 
he." 

While Jesus continued talking with the woman, his 
disciples returned, and approached him at the very time 
when he told the woman that he was the Messiah. 
Though they were astonished at his condescension in 

offered sacrifices according to the Mosaic law, adhering to the Pentateuch, 
DUL rejecting all other parts of Scripture. 

About B.C. 120, John Hyrcanus, king of the Jews, conquered them, 
and burned their temple, which only increased their animosity. They 
still contended that Mount Gerizim was the proper place for temple 
worship, because it was " the mount of blessing," although the altar 
erected by Joshua was not on Gerizim, but on Mount Ebal. Hence the 
language of the woman of Samaria on this occasion — a hundred and fifty 
years after their temple had been destroyed. In common with the Jews, 
they expected the Messiah, but rather in the character of the great 
" Prophet' than of the great " King.'" Deut. xviii. 15-19 ; John iv. 25, 26. 

The tenderness of Jesus toward this despised people on all occasions, 

is a remarkable and beautiful feature of his charactftr. 
6 



82 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



conversing with an inhabitant of Samaria, and even of 
instructing her in the doctrines of religion, none pre- 
sumed to ask him why he conversed with one who was 
an enemy to the Jews and the worship in the temple of 
Jerusalem. But the woman, hearing Jesus call himself 
he Messiah, left the pitcher, and ran into the city, to 
mblish the glad tidings, that the great Deliverer of 
mankind was then sitting by the well of Jacob, and had 
told her all the secret transactions of her life. This 
report astonished the Samaritans, and at the same time 
roused their curiosity to see a person foretold by Moses 
and the prophets, and of whose appearance there was 
then so universal an expectation. 

The disciples, on their return, set before their Master 
the provisions they had purchased ; but he, wholly ab- 
sorbed in meditation, refused the refreshment so highly 
requisite, telling them that he had meat to eat that 
they knew not of" This unexpected answer surprised 
his disciples, who, understanding his words in their 
natural sense, asked one another whether any person 
had, during their absence, supplied him with provisions. 
But Jesus soon explained the mystery, by telling them 
that he did not mean natural, but spiritual, food ; that 
to execute the commission he had received from his 
Father was far better to him than meat or drink ; and 
the satisfaction he was going to receive from the con- 
version of the Samaritans much greater than any sen- 
sual enjoyments. 

Many of the Samaritans were now near Jesus, who, 
lifting up his eyes, and seeing the ways crowded with 
people coming to him from the city, stretched out his 
benevolent hands toward them, and addressed his disci- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



8^ 



pies in the following manner : " Say not ye there are 
yet four months, and then cometh harvest ? Behold, I 
say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, 
for they are already white unto harvest." (John iv. 
35.) Behold yonder multitudes, how they are throng- 
ing to hear the word, which has only a few minutes 
been sown in their hearts ! It is not, therefore, alway»s 
necessary to wait with patience for the effect, which 
sometimes immediately follows the cause. To gather 
this spiritual harvest, and finish the work of him that 
sent me, is my proper food ; adding, for the encourage- 
ment of his disciples. As you have labored with me in 
this harvest, so shall you participate in the great recom- 
pense of eternal rewards : " He that reapeth receive th 
wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal ; that both 
he that soweth, and he that reapeth, may rejoice to- 
gether." John iv. 36. 

Many of the people had been so affected at the words 
of the woman that they were fully persuaded Jesus 
could be no other than the great Messiah ; accordingly, 
their first request was that he would deign to take up 
his residence in their city. The compassionate Re- 
deemer of the human race so far complied as to stay 
with them two days — an interval which he spent in 
preaching to them the kingdom of God ; so that the 
greatest part of the city embraced the doctrines of the 
gospel, and, at his departure, said unto the woman. 
" Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we 
have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed 
the Christ, the Saviour of the world." John iv. 42. 

Having accomplished his gracious design in Samaria, 



84 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



Jesus continued his journey to Galilee,* to exercise his 
ministry and preach there the kingdom of God ; telling 
the people that the time was now accomplished which 
had been predetermined by Omnipotence for erecting the 
happy kingdom of the Prince of Peace. f Mark i. 15. 

Our Lord had performed several miracles at Jerusa- 
lem during the passover, at which the inhabitants of 
Galilee were present. His preaching was therefore at 
first attended with great success ; for they listened at- 
tentively to his doctrine, and received it with particular 
kindness and .courtesy — especially the people of Cana, 
where he had turned the water into wine. 

During his residence in that city, a nobleman of Caper- 
naum came to him, requesting, with great humility and 
reverence, that he would come down and heal his son, 
who was at the point of death. Our blessed Saviour 
readily complied with the latter part of his request ; but, 
to remove a prejudice they had conceived, that it was 
necessary to be personally present in order to restore 
the sick person to health, he refused to go down to 
Capernaum, dismissing the father with this assurance, 
that his son was restored to health : " Go thy way ; thy 
son live th." (John iv. 50.) The nobleman obeyed the 

* Galilee, in the time of Christ, embraced all of Palestine north of 
Samaria and west of the Jordan. It was under the government of Herod 
Antipas, or Herod the Tetrarch, and was divided into Upper or Northern 
Galilee, which was quite mountainous, and Lower or Southern Galilee, 
which was quite fertile and populous. The latter was the residence of 
Jesus ; it comprehended the four tribes of Issacher, Asher, Naphtali, and 
Zebulun, and contained over four hundred towns and villages, the least 
of which, according to Josephus, had a population of fifteen hundred 
souls. Here our Lord chiefly labored for about eighteen months, full one 
half of his public ministry. 

t See note page 17. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



85 



word of Jesus, and immediately departed for his own 
House ; but before his arrival he was met by his ser- • 
vants, with the joyful news that his son was recovered. 
On this the father inquired at what time they perceived 
an alteration for the better, and from their answer was 
satisfied that immediately after the words were spoken 
by the blessed Jesus the fever left him, and he was re- 
covered in a miraculous manner. This amazing instance 
of his power and goodness abundantly convinced the 
nobleman and his family that Jesus was the true 
Messiah, the great Prophet so long promised to the 
world. 

After some stay in the city and neighborhood of Cana, 
Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had spent the greater 
part of his youth, and, as his constant custom was, went 
to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and read thai 
celebrated prediction of the Messiah in the prophet 
Isaiah: ''The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because 
he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; 
he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to 
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to 
preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke iv. 18, 
- 19. 

It should be remembered that our blessed Saviour 
read this passage in the original Hebrew, which was 
then a dead language, and, as he had never been taught 
letters, could do it only by inspiration from above.* 

* There is great force in this remark. For although the Septuagint 
Greek version was in extensive use, in the time of Christ, in the synagogues 
of Egypt and other foreign parts, it seems highly probable, if not ( orUiin. 
that in all parts of Palestine, not settled by Greek colonics, the Hebrew 



86 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



But he did more : he explainea the passage with such 
* strength of reason and beauty of expression that the 
inhabitants of Nazareth, who well knew he had never 
been initiated into the rudiments of learning, heard him 
with astonishment. But, as he performed no miracle 
in their city, they were offended at him. Perhaps they 
thought the place of his residence should have been his 
peculiar care, and, as he could with a single word heal 
the sick at a distance, not a single person in Nazareth 
should have been afflicted with any kind of disease. 
That they really entertained sentiments of this kind 
seems plain from our Saviour's own words : "Ye will 
surely say to me. Physician, heal thyself : whatever we 
have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy 
country evidently alluding to the great and benevolent 
miracle he had wrought on the nobleman's son. 

But the holy Jesus, by enumerating the miracles that 
Jehovah had done in behalf of the widow of Sarepta, who 
was a heathen, and the inhabitant of an idolatrous city, 
in the time of famine, when many widows in Israel per- 
ished with hunger, and of Naaman the Syrian, who was 
cured of his leprosy by the prophet Elisha, when num- 
bers of Jews, afflicted with the same loathsome disease, 
were suffered to continue in their uncleanness, suffi- 
ciently proved that the prophets had on some extraor- 
dinary occasions wrought miracles in favor of those 

text was preserved and read in the synagogues. But as the vernacular 
tongue of the Jews of Palestine, at that time, was Aramean, or Syro- 
Chaldec, a corruption of the pure Hebrew, it became necessary to inter- 
pret the original text to the people, as well as to expound the meaning, as 
was done from the time of Ezra. Nehemiah viii. 8. Hence the wonder 
of the Jews at the ability of Jesus to do this : " How knoweth this man 
letters, having never learned?" John vii. 15. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



87 



whom the Israelites, from a fond conceit of their being 
the peculiar favorites of Heaven, judged unworthy of 
such marks of particular favor. The people w^ere so 
incensed at this reply, that forgetting the sanctity of 
the Sabbath, they hurried him through the streets "to 
the brow of the hill whereon their city was built," intend- 
ing to cast him headlong down the precipice. But the 
Son of God defeated their cruel intentions, by miracu- 
lously confounding their sight and withdrawing from the 
fury of these wretched people. 



CHAPTER YL 

OUR LORD PROCEEDS TO CAPERNAUM — ADDS TO THE NUMBER 

OF HIS FOLLOWERS PROCLAIMS THE GOSPEL IN GALILEE 

PREACHES TO A NUMEROUS AUDIENCE HIS WELL-KNOWN 

AND EXCELLENT DISCOURSE UPON THE MOUNT. 

The holy Jesus, aggrieved by the cruel Nazarenes, 
departed from them, and visited Capernaum, the capital 
of Galilee (on the borders of the Lake of Gennesaret,) 
which was a place highly convenient for his design 

* Capernaum was situated at the northern p-art of that lovely region 
called Gennesaret, on the western shore of the sea of Galilee. It was 
sheltered from the north winds by a semi-circle of hills, and its delicious 
climate and soil brought together, within a district of ten square miles, 
the various products of the temperate zone and the tropics — the grape 
and the fig, the walnut and the palm. The lake spread out before the 
prospect, blue and beautiful, to the abrupt boundary of its eastern hills, 
and its waters abounded with the finest fish in the world. 



88 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



for, besides the numerous inhabitants of the city, the 
trading towns on the lake were crowded with strangers, 
who, after hearing the doctrine of the gospel preached 
by the great Kedeemer of mankind, would not fail to 
spread in their respective countries the happy tidings of 
salvation. 

While Jesus tarried at Capernaum, he usually taught 
in the synagogues on the Sabbath day, preaching with 
such energy of power as greatly astonished the whole 
congregation. He did not, however, constantly confine 
himself to that city; the adjacent country was often 
blessed with his presence and cheered with the heavenly 
words of his mouth. 

In one of the neighboring villages he called Simon 
and Andrew, who were following their occupation of 
fishing on the lake, to accompany him. These disci- 
ples, who had before been acquainted with him, readily 
obeyed the heavenly mandate, and followed the Saviour 
of the world. Soon after, he saw J ames and John, who 
were also fishing on the lake, and called -them also. Nor 
did they hesitate to follow the great Kedeemer of man- 
kind ; and, from their ready compliance, there is reason 
to believe that they, as well as Simon and Andrew, 
were acquainted with Jesus at Jordan, unless we sup- 
pose (which is far from being improbable) that their 
readiness proceeded from the secret energy of his power 
upon their minds. But, however this be, the four dis- 
ciples accompanied our blessed Saviour to Capernaum, 
and soon after to different parts of Galilee. 

How long our Lord was on this journey cannot be 
determined : all the evangelists have mentioned is, that 
he wrought a great number of miracles on diseased 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 89 

persons, and that the fame of these wonderful works 
drew people from Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond 
Jordan. Nor was the knowledge of these miracles con- 
cealed from the heathen, particularly the inhabitants 
of Syria ; for they also brought their sick to Galilee to 
be healed by him. Consequently, the time our blessed 
Saviour spent in these tours must have been considera- 
ble, though the evangelists have said very little con- 
cerning it. 

But, whatever time was spent in these benevolent 
actions, the prodigious multitudes which flocked to him 
from every quarter moved his compassion toward those 
who were bewildered in the darkness of ignorance, and 
determined him to preach to them " the words of eter- 
nal life." 

For this blessed purpose, he ascended a mountain in 
that neighborhood ; and, placing himself on an eminence, 
from whence he could be heard by throngs of people at- 
tending him, he inculcated, in an amazingly pathetic 
manner, the most imj)ortant points of religion.* 

* The Sermon on the Mount was probably deUvered in the spring of 
A.D. 31, and ranks next in importance, if not in time, to the call of the 
Twelve Apostles. 

The place where such vital words were first uttered, is still called the 
Mount of Beatitudes. It rises at no great distance northwest of Caper- 
naum, and commands a fine view of the sea of Galilee from shore to shore. 
From its peculiar form it is called Hairem Hattin, or the Horns of Hattin, 
having two summits with a depression between them. The ascent is 
steep and rocky, but the depression between the summits afi'orded ample 
room for the great Teacher and the multitudes that followed him. 

At this season of the year the landscape was diversified with all the 
beauty of spring in that delicious climate, and the charms of Nature lent 
all their aid to the lessons of truth and grace, which fell from the lips of 
Jesus. Ilere might be seen in one direction the red newly ploughed soil, 
there, the yellow or whitening harvest, ripening in tlie sun, prophetic of 



I 



90 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 



He opened his excellent sermon with the doctrine of 
happiness — a subject which the teachers of wisdom have 
always considered as the principal object in morals, and 
employed their utmost abilities to convey a clear idea 
of it to their disciples, but differed very remarkably with 
regard to the particulars in which it consisted. The 
Jews were in general persuaded that the enjoyments of 
sense were the sovereign good. Kiches, conquest, liber- 
ty, mirth, women, fame, revenge, and other things of 
the same kind, afforded them such pleasures that they 
wished for no better in the Messiah's kingdom, which 
they all considered as a secular one, and that a "golden," 
instead of a sceptre of righteousness," would have 
been the " sceptre of his kingdom." Nay, some of the 
disciples themselves retained for a time the like kind of 
notion, till they were convinced of their mistake by the 
spirit, word, and conduct of their divine Master. 

Our Lord and Master, therefore, to show his hearers 
in general, and his disciples in particular, the grossness 
of their error, declared, that the highest happiness of 

the fruits to spring from the Saviour's doctrine in after years, when the 
handful of corn planted by Him on the tops of the mountains shall yield 
a product that shall shake like Lebanon. Yonder are fields green with 
grass or springing grain, while lower still the gorgeous hues of the hly of 
the valley suggest to the mind the Hand that arrays them in more than 
the glory of Solomon, and overhead the blue air is ringing with the 
music of the birds, who, without storehouse or barn, proclaim to the 
world the ceaseless bounty of an ever-watchful Providence. From scenes 
and objects like these did the great Teacher illustrate and enforce his won- 
drous lessons — lessons, which must have become forever after aBsociate>d 
in the minds of his hearers with the circumstances of the time and with 
the scenery of the place. But it was the lessons themselves whicii chiefly 
riveted their thoughts ; from the circumference of creation he sinick to 
the centre of their hearts, and " He spoke as One having aathont^r, ard 
not as the Scribes." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



91 



man consisted in the graces of the Spirit, because from 
the possession and exercise of them, the purest pleasures 
result ; pleasures which satisfy even the Almighty him- 
self, and constitute his ineffable felicity. 

The rich, the great, the proud, said the Eedeemer of 
mankind in whom the wisdom of God was fully dis- 
played, are not happy, as you imagine ; they are always 
wishing for what they cannot obtain ; and their disap- 
pointments are poisoned arrows, festering in their 
breasts. On the contrary, the poor in spirit are the truly 
happy, who, depending on divine grace for the supply of 
their spiritual wants, discharge the duties of their sta- 
tion, whatever it be, with virtue and integrity. ''Blessed 
are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

The jocose and flighty are not the happy, but on the 
contrary, the afflicted, provided they rightly improve 
their afflictions ; that is, if they are excited by them to 
mourn for their sins, forsake their wicked courses, and 
seek a better life. Affliction awakens the most serious 
thoughts in the mind; composes it into a grave and 
settled frame, very different from the levity inspired by 
prosperity : it gives a fellow-feeling of the sorrows of 
others ; and makes it thoroughly sensible of the danger 
of departing from God, the source and centre of all its 
joys. Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall 
be comforted." 

Nor are the passionate happy ; but on tl.o contrary, 
the meek. Those who have subdued their camper oan 
patiently bear provocation, and are strange' , to tha/ de- 
structive passion, envy. Blessed are tk ineek for 
they shall inherit the earth." 



12 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Men, through vanity and bhndness, consider those as 
happy who enjoy the pleasures of this life, by rioting in 
luxury and excess. But this is far from being the case; 
on the contrary, those are the truly happy who have 
the most vehement desire of treading the paths of virtue 
and religion. For they, by the assistance of the Holy 
Spirit, shall obtain every thing they desire. " Blessed 
are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness : for 
they shall be filled." * 

Forgiveness, not resentment, for injuries done, is the 
spring of happiness ; and those who are of a humane 
and beneficent disposition, rejoice when they can per- 
form a benevolent action, especially to their fellow-mor- 
tals in distress ; the pleasure is godlike ; it is divine. 

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain 
mercy." 

Sensuality, is a subjection to the appetite ; only those 
who have mortified their carnal appetites, enjoy an in- 
ward purity of mind. With what delight do we behold 
the glories of the sun, and contemplate the beautiful 
scenes of nature that surround us ! But what propor- 
tion has this to the ineffable delights that must fill the 
minds of those who behold the great Creator himself. 

Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see 
God." 

The tyrants and conquerors of the earth, who disturb 
the peace of mankind, are far from happy : it falls to the 
share of those who love their fellow-creatures, and do 
all in their power to promote peace and harmony among 
the children of men. Blessed are the peace-makers : 
for th( y shall be called the children of God." 

Nor does happiness consist in liberty and ease, if those 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



93 



privileges are purchased at the expense of virtue. Those 
who have suffered the severest trial that human nature 
is capable of sustaining, from purity of heart, and for 
conscience' sake, shall be honored with the highest re- 
wards in the blissful mansions of eternity. Blessed 
are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake : 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

Contentment is not to be expected from the applause 
of the world ; but will be the portion of those who are 
falsely reviled for their righteousness, and share in the 
affronts offered to God himself ; for by these persecu- 
tions the prophets of all ages have been distinguished. 
" Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and perse- 
cute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you 
falsely, for my sake. Eejoice and be exceeding glad : 
for great is your reward in heaven : for so persecuted 
they the prophets which were before you." Matthew 
V. 11, 12. 

These are the declarations, with regard to happiness, 
made by the Son of God : and surely we may believe 
the words of him who came down from heaven ; and 
who, in compassion to our infirmities, took upon him- 
self our nature ; and to redeem us from the power of 
sin and death, offered himself a sacrifice on the cross, 
and thereby opened to us the gates of eternal life. 

Having shown in what true happiness consisted, our 
Saviour addressed himself to his disciples, and explained 
their duty as the teachers appointed to conduct others 
in the paths that lead to eternal felicity, and excited 
them to diligence in dispensing the salutary influences 
of their doctrine and example, that their hearers might 
honor and praise the great Creator of heaven and earth, 



94 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



wlio had been so kind to the children of men. As his 
definition of happiness was very different from what the 
Jews were accustomed to hear from the Scribes and 
Pharisees,* he thought proper to declare that he was 
not come to destroy the moral precepts contained in the 
law and the prophets, but to fulfil or confirm them. 

Nothing is so steadfast as the eternal truths of moral- 
ity : the heavens may pass away, and the whole frame 
of nature be dissolved, but the rules of righteousness 
shall remain immutable and immortal. And, therefore, 
he ordered his disciples, on the severest penalties, to 
enforce, both by preaching and example, the strict ob- 
servance of all the moral precepts contained in the sacred 
writings, and that in a much greater breadth than they 
were taken by the teachers of Israel ; and, in consider- 

* The Scribes are often mentioned in conjunction with the Pharisees 
in the New Testament. But they were not a separate sect in rehgion, 
they were only a distinct profession, devoted to the cultivation of letters ; 
writers, or literary men. Most of them were of the priestly tribe of Levi. 
These constituted the class of learned men ; some transcribed, studied, and 
expounded the Scriptures, and were hence called "lawyers," or teachers 
of the Law. Members of the great Sanhedrin, or Jewish Senate, were 
often chosen from this class. They sprang up after the release from the 
Babylonish Captivity, and hence had been flourishing for more than five 
hundred years at the birth of our Lord. On them it specially devolved 
to preserve the sacred text from all errors and corruptions. 

An inferior class of Scribes were public notaries in the Sanhedrin and 
courts of justice, keepers of genealogies in the temple, and registers in the 
synagogues. 

As a body, however, the Scribes were held in high repute among the 
people, and one of them even won the commendation of Christ for his 
correct view of the Law of God. Mark xii. 28. As expounders of the 
Law, they are said to " sit in Moses' seat," Matt, xxiii. 2 ; but their best 
teachings were wanting in the enforcement of a good example, and their 
teaching in general was radically defective in depth and spiritual insight. 
Matt. V. 20 ; vii. 29. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



95 



ation of the frailties of human nature, taught them that 
excellent form of prayer which has been used by Chris- 
tians of most denominations to this very day :* Our 
Father/' &c. 

If earthly parents are called fathers, the Almighty 
has the best title from every creature, and particularly 
from men, being the Father of their spirits, the Maker 
of their bodies, and the continual Preserver of both. 
" Father" is the most magnificent title invented by poets 
and philosophers in honor of their gods : it conveys the 
most lively idea possible to the human breast. As it is 
used by mankind in general, it marks the essential 
character of the true G od ; namely, that he is the First 
Cause of all things, or the Author of our being, and at 
the same time conveys a strong idea of the tender love 
he bears to his creatures, whom he nourishes with an 
affection and protects with a watchfulness infinitely 
superior to that of an earthly parent. The name of 
Father also teaches us that we owe our being to God, 
points out his goodness and mercy in upholding us, and 
expresses his power in giving us the things we ask. 
Nor is this all : we are likewise taught to give our 
Maker the title of Father, that our sense of the tender 
relation in which he stands to us may be confirmed, our 



* Nothing in the New Testament appears to teach us that our Saviour 
designed to limit us to these very words as a stated form of prayer. And 
yet considered merely as a form, the world might be challenged to pro- 
duce any thing half so comprehensive and concise. Considered as a 
model, or index of the subjects of petition acceptable to God, can any 
thing be conceived more suggestive than the nature, order, and relative 
rank of these petitions ? The glory of God and the salvation of mankind 
take precedence of every domestic or personal concern. Our bodily 
wants how limited ! Our spiritual wants how various and how great I 



96 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



faith in his power and goodness strengthened, our hopes 
of obtaining what we ask in prayer cherished, and our 
desire of obeying and imitating him quickened ; for the 
light of nature teaches us that it is disgraceful in chil- 
dren to degenerate from their parents, and that they 
cannot commit a greater crime than to disobey the 
commands of an indulgent father. 

Lastly, we are commanded in the plural number, to 
call him Father (and that even in our secret addresses 
to the throne of grace), to put us in mind that we are 
all brethren, the children of one common Parent, and 
that we ought to love one another with sincerity, as we 
pray not for ourselves only, but for all the human race. 

Who art in heaven." The words do not suppose 
the presence of God confined : he is present everywhere, 
— about our paths, about our bed, — and narrowly 
inspecteth every action of the sons of men. But they 
express his majesty and power, and distinguish him 
from those we call fathers upon earth, and from false 
gods, which are not in heaven, the happy mansion of 
bliss and felicity, — where the Almighty, who is essen- 
tially present in every part of the universe, gives more 
especial manifestation of his presence to such of his 
creatures as he hath exalted to share with him in the 
eternal felicities of the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Hallowed be thy name." By the name of God the 
Hebrews understood God himself, his attributes, and his 
works ; and therefore the meaning of the petition is, 
May thy existence be universally believed, thy perfec- 
tions loved and imitated, thy works admired, thy 
supremacy over all things acknowledged, thy providence 
reverenced and confided in ! May all the sons of men 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



97 



think so highly of his divine majesty, of his attributes, 
of his works, and may we so express our veneration for 
God, that his glorj may be manifested in every corner 
of the world ! 

Thy kingdom come." Let the kingdom of the 
Messiah be extended to the utmost parts of the earth, 
that all the children of men ^'may become one fold 
under one shepherd, Jesus Christ the righteous." 

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." May 
thy will, 0 thou great Father of the universe, be made 
known to us by the light of thy glorious gospel, and 
thy Holy Spirit so bestowed, that we may be enabled to 
imitate the angels of light, by giving as sincere, univer- 
sal, and constant obedience to thy divine commands 
as they. 

Give us this day our daily bread." Give us from 
time to time such wholesome and proper food that we 
may be enabled to worship thee with cheerfulness and 
serve thee v/ith vigor. 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." 
The Almighty, as Supreme Governor of the universe, 
has a right to support his government by punishing 
those who transgress his laws. The suffering of punish- 
ment, therefore, is a debt which sinners owe to the 
divine justice; so that when we ask God, in prayer, to 
forgive our debts, we beg that he would be mercifully 
pleased to remit the punishment of all our sins, and 
that, laying aside his displeasure, he would receive us 
into favor and bless us with life eternal. In this peti- 
tion, therefore, we confess our sins and express the sense 
we have of their guilt, namely, that they deserve death ; 
and surely nothing can be more proper than such a con- 
7 



98 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fession in our addresses to God ; because humility and 
a sense of our unworthiness, when we ask favors of 
the Almighty, whether spiritual or temporal, have a 
tendency to draw forth the goodness of God in bestow- 
ing them upon us. 

The terms of this petition are worthy our notice : 
"Forgive us only as we forgive." We must forgive 
others if we hope ourselves to be forgiven, and are per- 
mitted to crave from God such forgiveness only as we 
grant to others ; so that, if we do not forgive even our 
enemies, we seriously and solemnly implore the Almighty 
to condemn us to the punishment of eternal death. How 
remarkably careful therefore, should men be to purge 
their hearts from all rancor and malice before they 
enter the temple of the Almighty to offer up their 
prayers to the throne of grace ! 

^'And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
from evil." That is, do not lead us into such temptations 
as are too hard for human nature; ^^but deliver us," by 
sjme means, from the evil, either by removing the 
temptation, or increasing our strength to resist it. This 
petition teaches us to preserve a sense of our own inabil- 
ity to repel and overcome the solicitations of the world, 
and of the necessity there is of our receiving assistance 
from above, both to regulate our passions and enable us 
to prosecute a religious life. 

" For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
glory, forever." Because the government of the universe 
is thine forever, and thou alone possessest the power of 
answering our manifold petitions and because the glory 
of thine infinite perfections remains eternally with thee, 
therefore all men ought to hallow thy name submit 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



99 



themselves to thy government, and perform thy will, 
and, in an humble sense of their dependence, seek from 
thee the supply of their wants, the pardon of their sins, 
and the kind protection of thy providence. 

This is emphatically called the Lord's prayer, because 
delivered by the Son of God himself ; and therefore we 
should do well to understand it thoroughly, that when 
we enter the temple of the Lord, and address him in 
solemn prayer, we may have hopes that he will grant 
our petitions. And, above all, not to harbor in our 
breasts the least envy or malice against any who have 
offended us ; for it is only on a supposition that we have 
forgiven others that we may have the least reason to 
hope of obtaining forgiveness from the Great Creator. 

The divine Preacher proceeded to disclose the great 
duty of fasting, in which he directed them not to follow 
the hypocrites, in disfiguring their faces and clothing 
themselves in the melancholy weeds of sorrow, but each 
to be chiefly solicitous to appear before God as one that 
truly fasteth. Then will the Almighty, who constantly 
surrounds us, and is acquainted even with the most 
secret thoughts of our hearts, openly bestow upon us 
the reward of a true penitence : mortification, contrition, 
and humility he can discern, without the external appear- 
ance of sorrow and repentance. It must, however, be 
remembered that our blessed Saviour is here speaking 
of private fasting, and to this alone his directions are to 
be applied ; for when we are called upon to mourn over 
public sins or calamities it ought to be performed in the 
most public manner. 

Heavenly-mindedness was the next virtue inculcated 
by the blessed Jesus ; and this he recommended with 



100 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



peculiar earnestness, because the Jewish doctors were 
in general strangers to this grace, in which he was 
desirous his followers should be clothed, as being the 
most excellent ornament for a teacher of righteousness. 
This virtue is strenuously recommended by our blessed 
Saviour, by showing the deformity of its opposite, cove- 
tousness, which has only perishable things for its object. 

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where 
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break 
through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures 
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, 
and where thieves do not break through and steal. For 
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." 
Matt. vi. 19-21. 

More solid happiness will accrue from depositing your 
treasures in heaven, than in laying them up on earth, 
where they are subject to a thousand disasters, and even 
at best can remain only for a short series of years; 
whereas those laid up in heaven are permanent, and 
will lead to a " crown of glory that fadeth not away, 
eternal in the heavens." Nor let any man be so foolish 
as to think he can place his heart on the happiness of 
a future life when his treasures are deposited in this 
vale of misery ; for wherever are laid up the goods which 
his soul desireth, there his heart and affections will also 
remain. If, therefore, ye are desirous of sharing in thf» 
joys of eternity, you must lay up your treasures in the 
" mansions of my Father s kingdom." 

Lest they should imagine it was possible to be both 
heavenly-minded and covetous at the same time, he as- 
sured them that this was fully as absurd as to imagine 
that 1 person could at the same time serve and divide 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



101 



his affections equally between two masters of opposite 
characters ; for either he will hate the one and love the 
other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other : 

Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matt. vi. 24. 

To strengthen this doctrine, he added a few plain, 
evident instances of the power, perfection, and extent 
of God's providence, in which his tender care for the 
least and weakest of his creatures shines with a remark- 
able lustre, demonstrating the wise and parental atten- 
tion of the Deity to all the creatures of his hand. He 
desired them to observe the birds of the air, the lilies, 
and even the grass of the field — leading his most illiter- 
ate hearers to form a more elevated and extensive idea 
of the divine government than the philosophers had 
attained ; who, though they allowed in general that the 
world was governed by God, had very confused notions 
of his providence with regard to every individual crear 
ture and action. He taught them that the Almighty 
Father of the whole is the guardian and protector of the 
universe ; that every action is subject to his will, and 
nothing left to the blind determination of chance.* 

* " There is no foundation for the usual distinction between a general and 
a particular Providence ; for so intimate are the natural dependencies of 
animate and inanimate creation, that no providence can be general, which 
includes not every individual being; and the same arguments which prove 
that God takes notice of any thing, prove that his providence extends 
equally to all. 

" It is common enough to hear the providence of God generally and in- 
distinctly acknowledged in extraordinary events, especially in those 
which bear with them an impressive character of moral retribution. But 
this is very different from the habitual enduring persuasion of the un- 
limited and uninterrupted providence of God in every thing which attends 
the Christian; in sorrow and in joy, in security and in danger, in privat^e 
and in public, in our business and our devotions, in youth and in age, in 
time and in eternity." — J. S. Bucknenster. 



102 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



And if we direct our lives according to the divine will, 
we have surely no reason to be anxious about the neces- 
saries of life. Behold," says the blessed Jesus, the 
fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do they reap, 
nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth 
them. Are not ye much better than they ?" Matt. vi. 
26. ' 

Be ye anxiously solicitous to obtain the happiness of 
the life to come ; and all the good things of this life 
shall, in the course of divine Providence, be added unto 
you. Matt. vi. 33. 

Our Lord then prohibited all rash and uncharitable 
censure, either with regard to the characters of others in 
general, or their actions in particular : lest, in doing so, 
both God and man resent the injury. Judge not, 
that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye 
judge, ye shall be judged : and with what measure ye 
mete, it shall be measured to you again." Matt. vii. 
1, 2. . _ 

An entire reformation in themselves, in particular, is 
absolutely necessary in those whose office it is to reprove 
and reform their brethren. And surely, nothing can be 
more preposterous, than to condemn in others what we 
practice ourselves ; or to set up for reformers of the 
world, when we ourselves are contaminated with the 
most enormous vices. With what countenance can we 
undertake to rebuke others for small faults, when we 
are ourselves plunged in the most detestable pollutions ? 
Well might the Eedeemer of the world say, " Thou 
hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye ; 
and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out 
of thy brother's eye." Matt. vii. 5. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



103 



Our blessed Saviour added Give not that which is 
holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before 
swinCj lest they trample them under their feet, and turn 
again and rend you." Matt. vii. 6. Do not reprove 
men of a snarling disposition, as the attempt, instead of 
liaving the happy effects intended, will but provoke 
them to pursue their wickedness with greater boldness 
than ever. You may warn others against their company 
and example, you may weep over them, and you may 
pray to your heavenly Father for them ; but you cannot 
reprove them with safety, or any hopes of success. 

Lest the disciples should think that these precepts 
were not to be attained by human nature, he directed 
them to apply to God for the assistance of his Spirit, to- 
gether with all the other blessings necessary to their 
salvation ; adding the noblest precept of morality that 
was ever delivered by any teacher, ^^All things whatso- 
ever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even 
so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets." Matt, 
vii. 12. How clear a rule of duty is this, and how easy 
and applicable to practice ! Look into your own breast, 
and do as you would be done by, in the same condi- 
tion. 

Having enforced these heavenly precepts, he exhorted 
them to place an humble dependence on the Spirit, to 
strive to practice the precepts of religion, however diffi- 
cult the task might appear. " Enter ye in at the strait 
gate ; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that 
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in 
thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the 
wa}' that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find 
it." Matt. v".i. 13, 14. How strait indeed is the gate 



104 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and narrow is the way that leadeth to life ! In the 
way nothing is to be found that flatters the flesh, but 
many things that have a tendency to mortify it — poverty, 
fasting, wat<5hing, injuries, chastity, sobriety. And with 
regard to the gate, it receives none that are pufied up 
with the glory of this life, none that are indulging in 
luxury ; it does not admit those that love riches or are 
encumbered with the goods of this world. None can 
pass through it but those who renounce all worldly lust 
and are resolved to forsake all sin. There is, however, 
no reason for us to despair of entering through this 
heavenly portal : if we sincerely endeavor, the assistance 
of the Holy Spirit will be freely given us, and we 
shall safely pass through the " strait gate," and pursue 
our journey with ease along the " narrow path" till 
we arrive at the blissful mansions of the heavenly 
Canaan. 

But lest evil-minded men, under the mask of piety 
and religion, should endeavor to draw them from the 
paths of righteousness, our blessed Saviour cautioned his 
disciples to beware of such persons, and carefully m; -ke 
the strictest scrutiny into their lives and doctrines. 

Our Lord closes his sermon with the parable of the 
houses built on different foundations^ intimating that 
the bare knowledge, or the simple hearing, of the 
divinest lessons of the truth ever delivered — nay, even 
the belief of these instructions, without the practice of 
them — is of no manner of importance. Eeligion — vital 
and practical religion, resting on the immutable author- 
ity of Christ alone, — is the foundation which can so 
firmly establish us that we cannot be shaken by all the 
tempests of afflictions, temptations, and persecutions of 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



105 



the present age. It is this foundation alone, which, like 
a flinty rock on the eternal basis of the mountains, can 
support us in the day of trial. This alone can enable 
us to frustrate the attempts of men and devils, and pa 
tiently endure all the troubles of mortality. 



CHAPTER YII. 

OUR BLESSED LORD CURES THE LEPROSY AND PALSY CASTS 

OUT A DEVIL SUCCORS THE MOTHER-IN-LAW OF PETER, 

AND AFTERWARD PURSUES HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE 
COUNTRY OF GALILEE. 

The great Preacher of Israel, having finished his ex- 
cellent discourse, came down from the mountain, sur- 
rounded by a multitude of people, who had listened with 
astonishment to the doctrines he delivered, which were 
soon confirmed by divers miracles. A leper met him 
in his way to Capernaum, and being, doubtless, ac- 
quainted with the wondrous works he had already per- 
formed, threw himself, with great humility, before the 
Son of God, using this remarkable expression : "Lord, 
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." 

The species of leprosy common among the Jews and 
the other Eastern nations was equally nauseous and in- 
fectious ; but this was so far from preventing the blessed 
Jesus from approaching so loathsome an object, that it 



106 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



increased his pity: he even touched him; but, instead 
of being polluted himself, the leper was instantly cleansed; 
and he departed glorifying God. 

The evangelist adds that Jesus forbade him to tell 
any person what had been done, but repair immedi- 
ately to the priest and offer the gift commanded by 
Moses. 

Having performed the cure on the leper, our blessed 
Lord proceeded to Capernaum ; but as he entered the 
city he was met by a Boman centurion, who represented 
to him, in the most pathetic manner, the deplorable 
condition of his servant, who was grievously afflicted 
with a palsy. The compassionate Redeemer of the 
world listened attentively to his complaint, and imme- 
diately told him he would come and heal him. The 
centurion thought this a great condescension to one who 
was not of the seed of Jacob, and therefore told him 
that he did not mean he should give himself the trouble 
of going to his house, as this was an honor he had not 
the least reason to expect, he being confident that his 
word alone would be sufficient — diseases and devils being 
as much subject to his commands as his soldiers were to 
him.* 

Our Lord was amazed at these words ; not that he 
was ignorant of the centurion's faith, or the basis on 
which it was built: he well knew the thoughts of his 
heart long before he uttered his request ; but he was 
filled with admiration at^the just and exalted idea the 
Bom an officer had conceived of his power ; and, to make 
his faith the more conspicuous, he gave it the praise it 



* A Roman garrison was stationed at Capernaum and in other cities of 
Galilee, to prei mi disturbances. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



107 



so justly deserved : Verily, I say unto you, I have not 
found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Matt. viii. 10. 

This centurion doubtless relied upon the miracle Jesus 
had before wrought upon the nobleman's son ; but the 
excellency and peculiarity of it consisted in applying 
the most grand ideas of superior power to Jesus, who 
according to outward appearance was only one of the 
sons of men. 

This exalted faith induced the blessed Jesus to de- 
clare the gracious intentions of his Almighty Father 
with regard to the Gentiles 5 namely, that he would as 
readily accept their faith as that of the Jews, and place 
them with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom 
of heaven ; while those who boasted of being the off- 
spring of these great patriarchs, but fell far short of the 
heathen in faith, should be excluded from the blissful 
seats of Paradise. And I say unto you, that many 
shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit 
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the king- 
dom of heaven : but the children of the kingdom shall 
be cast out into outer darkness : there shall be weeping 
and gnashing of teeth." Matt. viii. 11, 12. 

Having thus addressed the multitude, the blessed 
Jesus turned himself to the centurion, and said, " Go 
thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto 
thee." The idea thou hast conceived of my power is 
just, though remarkably great ; as a reward for thy faith 
I grant the petition thou hast asked of me. And," 
the evangelist adds, ^'his servant was healed in the self- 
same hour." Matt. viii. 13. 

On the succeeding Sabbath, our Saviour went into the 
Jewish synagogue at Capernaum, and taught the people, 



108 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



delivering his instructions in so graceful and elegant a 
manner that they were all astonished ; and, to increase 
their admiration, one of the congregation, possessed 
with an unclean spirit, cried out, in a terrible manner, 
" Let us alone : what have we to do with thee, thou 
Jesus of Nazareth ? Art thou come to destroy us ?* I 

* Nothing marks more strongly the Sadducean spirit of this age, than 
the levity or scorn with which many treat the revealed doctrine of the 
existence and agency of Evil Spirits — a doctrine pervading the entire 
sacred volume from the time of Moses and Job to the Apocalypse of St. 
John. Whatever superstitious notions or customs may have been 
grafted upon it among the Heathen, the Jews, or Christians, the Scrip- 
tural doctrine is totally free from them ; but it there stands forth as a 
stupendous and solemn fact, inseparably interwoven with human history. 
We are told of their creation and fall ; their confederacy and government ; 
many of their names, numbers, and orders ; their malicious designs and 
employments ; their great intelligence and subtlety ; their fearful, though 
limited power ; their prepared punishment ; the new hazards their influ- 
ence adds to human probation, though man is still justly responsible for 
following their instigations, and is, without repentance and faith in the 
Redeemer, liable to share their doom. They tempt by terror and bodily 
torture, as well as by seductive errors, as we see in the case of Job and 
of the demoniacs of the New Testament. None are more fully under the 
power of evil spirits than those, who, in the face of such various and 
ample testimony, deny their existence and agency. 

But why, it has been said, was their power in bodily possession so prom- 
inent in Palestine, just in the age of Christ ? Suppose we were unable 
to answer, it would only prove that it belongs to the immense class of un- 
explained, but undeniable facts. Yet if it were the object of the manifes- 
tation of the Son of God " to destroy the works of the devil," this may 
suggest the true solution. In all other parts of the world, Satan had suc- 
ceeded in establishing idolatry securely, by the power of the State ; in 
Palestine alone idolatry was resisted. There, too, was the centre where 
Christ was to strike the blow designed to shatter and overthrow the whole 
kingdom of evil. How natural, then, if that fallen Intelligence understood 
so much as this, that he should there muster his main forces to resist the 
onset, and that the All Wise should permit it for the very purpose ol 
making his defeat the more conspicuous and decisive. (Compare Luke 
xi. 14-22 with x. 17- "^0.) That Satan did know the design of the Saviour, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



109 



know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark 
i. 24. 

But the blessed Jesus, who wanted the testimony of 
no such confessors, commanded him to keep silence, and 
immediately come out of the man — which command 
the evil spirit instantly obeyed, to the great surprise 
and astonishment of all the spectators. 

The enemies of the gospel have always endeavored to 
depreciate our Saviour's miracles, pretending that no 
more is meant by a person possessed of a devil than that 
he was afflicted with some loathsome disease, and that 
because sepulchres were considered as polluted places, 
therefore whenever any melancholy person frequented 
them they were said to be possessed with unclean 
spirits. 

To this objection — ijamely, that the demoniacs were 
in reality nothing more than persons afflicted with some 
loathsome disease — we reply, it is evidently false, the 
evangelists having taken care to be very particular on 
this head."^ They brought unto him all sick people 
that were taken with divers diseases, and those which 

and that his fallen subordinates understood and feared it too, is quite evi- 
dent from the outcry of the unclean spirit, "Art thou come to destroy us 

* It should not be forgotten that one of the evangelists (Luke) was an 
educated physician, and that he well understood the difference between 
real lunacy or epilepsy and demoniac possessions, so clearly distinguished 
in the sacred narrative. That certain effects of the one resemble those of 
the others, proves nothing as to the identity of the causes. In order to 
prove this, all the symptoms must coincide ; which here is not the case. 
Demoniac possession stands distinctly apart in the New Testament from 
any form of disease whatever ; and it were idle to say that He whose word 
controlled it, did not understand its nature, and refer it to its real cause. 
On this subject absolute unbelief of the history, or absolute belief of it in 
every part, as bearing the stamp of Divine authority, is alone consistent 



110 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



were possessed with devils, and those which were luna- 
tic, and those that had the palsy ; and he healed them." 
Matt. iv. 24. He gave to the apostles power over 
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner 
of sickness and all manner of disease." Matt. x. 1. 
And, accordingly, he healed many that were sick of 
divers diseases, and cast out many devils." Mark i. 34. 

Having performed this astonishing miracle in the syna- 
gogue, our Lord returned to Peter's house, where he 
found his wife's mother sick of a fever. At his rebuke 
the fever immediately left her, so that she arose and ad- 
ministered to him. After sunset the door of the house 
was thronged by crowds of people seeking relief, and the 
compassionate Saviour healed them all; thus fulfill- 
ing the prophecy, " He took our infirmities and bare our 
sicknesses." 

But the vast concourse of people that now gathered 
round him in Capernaum began to be troublesome, and 
he retired into a desert, whither the multitude soon fol- 
lowed him and entreated him never to depart from them. 
But, as this request was inconsistent with the design of 
his mission, he, for the first time, refused their request, 
and preached in the synagogues of Galilee." Luke 
iv. 44. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Ill 



CHAPTER YIII. 

JESUS CONFIRMS HIS MISSION BY PRODUCING A MIRACULOUS 

DRAUGHT OF FISHES CURING THE LEPROSY A SECOND 

TIME APPEASING THE BOISTEROUS WAVES CASTING 

DEVILS OUT OF DIVERS PERSONS GRIEVOUSLY POSSESSED. 

Our blessed Lord, having spread his glorious doctrine 
throughout Galilee, returned to Capernaum, followed hy 
such numbers of people that he found it necessary to 
step into Peter's ship, from whence he taught the multi- 
tude, who stood on the shore listening with great atten- 
tion to his doctrine. 

Having concluded his discourse, he turned himself to 
Simon Peter, desiring him to launch out farther from 
the shore and let down his net ; on which the disciple 
told him of the unsuccessful pains they had taken during 
the whole night, but added that he would, in obedience 
to his command, make one trial more. Nor had he any 
cause to repent ; for the net was no sooner in the lake 
than they found it so full of large fishes that it was in 
danger of breaking. 

This success after such fruitless toil astonished Peter, 
who, falling down at the feet of Jesus, cried out, De- 
part from me ; for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord.'' He 
was conscious of the many sins he had been guilty of, 
and therefore afraid of being in the company of so divine 
a person, lest some offence might have exposed him to 
more than ordinary chastisement. 

But the benevolent Redeemer of mankind removed 
his fears by telling him that from thenceforth the em- 



112 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ployment for him and his companions should be far 
more noble : they should catch men ; that is, they should 
turn them from the crooked paths of iniquity to the 
straight road leading to the heavenly mansions. 

In one of the cities through which he passed, he found 

a man full of leprosy," who, seeing Jesus, fell on his 
face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou 
canst make me clean." 

It was the custom in Judea for the priest to banish 
from society those who were afflicted with a contagious 
leprosy. The disease of this person, therefore, was of a 
less pestilential kind, as he was suffered to join the con- 
versation of men. His case, however, excited the pity 
of the compassionate Jesus, who immediately cleansed 
him, ordered him to repair to Jerusalem, and, after 
showing himself to the priest, offer the gifts commanded 
by Moses, giving him the same admonition he had done 
to others — namely, not to tell any man what had been 
done for him. But the blessing he had receive4 was so 
great and unexpected, that, instead of concealing, he 
published everywhere the great things Jesus had done 
for him, which brought such crowds to the Son of God 
that he was obliged to retire from Capernaum into the 
wilderness, to refresh his body with rest and his spirit 
with prayer and meditation. 

The generality of commentators suppose that this 
leper, and the other mentioned in the previous chapter, 
are one and the same person ; but this is a mistake. 
The former was cured in the fields, the latter in the 
city. After cleansing the first, Jesus went to Caper- 
naum and healed the centurion's servant; but after 
curing the latter he retired into the wilderness, to shun 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



113 



the prodigious crowds which soon gathered round him 
from the leper's publishing everywhere the miracle Jesus 
had wrought for him. 

Our blessed Lord, finding all his endeavors to conceal 
himself in the desert would be in vain, ordered his dis- 
ciples to accompany him to the other side of the lake, 
upon which a certain Scribe who happened to be present 
declared he would follow him ; but Jesus, who well 
knew that his desire was only to gain the profits and 
advantages of an earthly kingdom which he supposed 
the Messiah would establish, told him, if he intended 
nothing more by following him than to improve his 
worldly fortune, he Avould find himself wretchedly mis- 
taken. The foxes have holes," said the blessed Jesus 
to this teacher of Israel, and the birds of the air have 
nests ; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his 
head." Matt. viii. 20. 

The disciples, having prepared the ship, took on board 
their Master, and departed for the other side of the lake, 
attended by many boats full of people, who were de- 
sirous of hearing his heavenly discourses and of being 
spectators of his astonishing works. But Jesus, being 
fatigued with the labors of the day, set himself down at 
the stern of the ship and fell asleep. 

The weather, which had till now been calm and 
serene, suddenly changed.'^' A terrible storm came on. 

* The sea of Galilee is a beautiful sheet of water, about fourteen miles 
long, and seven in breadth. It lies in a deep basin, surrounded by hills 
from five hundred to one thousand feet high. It is one hundred and sixty 
five feet in depth. Though protected from the winds, in some degree, by 
its sheltered situation, it is liable to sudden gusts, that sweep down tbi' 
gorges of the hills, and often rise into violent tempests. Modern travel- 
lers, venturing out on the lake, have been overtaken in the same manner 

as is here described. 
8 



114 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and the rising waves dashed impetuously against the 
ship, threatening every moment to bury them all in the 
bowels of the deep. The darkness of night increased the 
horrors of the tempest. Now they were carried on the 
top of the mountainous waves and seemed to touch the 
skies, then plunged to the bottom of the deep, while 
the foaming billows roared horridly above them. In 
vain the disciples exerted their utmost strength : the 
storm continued to increase, and baffled all the efforts 
of human exertion ; the waves broke over the ship, the 
waters rushed in, and she began to sink. All hope of 
escaping had vanished ; despair seized every individual, 
and they were on the brink of perishing, when they ran 
to Jesus, crying out, Master, Master, we perish !" 
Their vehement cries roused him from his sleep. He 
raised his hand, so often employed in acts of mercy and 
benevolence, and, with a stern and awful voice, rebuked 
the boisterous elements. The raging sea instantly 
obeyed his command. The aerial torrent stopped short 
in its impetuous course, and became as silent as the 
grave, while the mountainous waves sunk at once into 
their beds, and the surface of the deep became as smooth 
as polished marble. 

The disciples had before seen their great Master per- 
form many miracles, and, therefore, had abundant 
reason to rely wholly on his power and goodness. But 
in the excitement of the moment, they seem to have 
forgotten the power of their Master, and when human 
effort failed, to have abandoned all hopes of life. The 
blessed Jesus, therefore, very justly rebuked them : 

Why are ye fearful, 0 ye of little faith?" Why should 
ye doubt of my power to protect you ? The voj age was 




E [HJ D ^Si T 'oS T Q IL IL Q M (S ¥ Kl IE T E Rfl [P E i Y □ 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



115 



undertaken at my command, and therefore you should 
have been confident that I would not suJffer you to perish 
m it. The confused disciples, unable to recover from 
their astonishment, answered nothing, but could not 
help saying to one another, What manner of man is 
this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" Matt, 
viii. 22. Never before had he appeared to them so 
awful and so loving a being as in this time of terrible 
trial. 

Soon after the storm was allayed, they arrived in the 
country of Gadara,* and, on their landing, two men, 
possessed with devils, came from the tombs to meet 
Jesus. One of them, who was more furious than the 
other, had been often bound with chains and fetters, but 
to no purpose, being always broken with great fury, so 
that no man attempted further to restrain him. Being 
therefore at liberty, he shunned the society of men, 
wandering day and night in deserted places among the 
sepulchres or caverns where the dead were deposited, 
crying and making the most dismal complaints, and cut- 
ting himself with stones. 

The disciples were terrified at the approach of these 
furious mortals ; but Jesus soon dissipated their fears, 
commanding, while the men were at a distance, the 
devils to come out of them. The heavenly mandate 
was no sooner given than they fell on their faces, crying 
out What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of 

* The city of Gadara lay about seven miles southeast of the sea of Gali- 
lee, on the range of hills, whose steep precipices touched its shore. It 
belonged to the tribe of Gad, but many Greeks were mingled among it« 
inhabitants in the time of Christ. The ruins of ancient tombs are still 
found on the hill-side, memorable for the fierce demoniacs who infested 
them, and whose deliverance by Jesus is here recorded. 



116 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



the Most High God !" Mark v. 7. '^Art thou come 
to torment us before the time?" Matt. viii. 29. "I 
adjure thee by God that thou torment me not !" Mark 
V. 7. The apostate spirits well knew the power of the 
Son of God^ and trembled lest he should immediately 
cast them into the torments prepared for them, and not 
suffer them to continue roving through the earth till the 
day of judgment, when they shall be condemned to 
eternal punishment in the sight of the whole creation.* 

Jesus, being willing that the torments suffered by 
these miserable men should be known before he healed 
them, asked one of the devils his name, who answered, 
" Legion, for we are many" (Mark v. 9), begging, at 
the same time, that he would not command them to re- 
pair into the abyss, or bottomless pit, but suffer them to 
enter a herd of swine feeding at a distance. 

How subtle are the wiles of the devil ! The power of 
the Son of God he knew was not to be resisted ; but he 
could not help envying the benevolent miracles he had 
wrought for the sons of men, and was therefore willing 
to prevent as much as possible their good effects on the 
miserable people of this country. This was the true 
reason why he begged leave to enter the herd of swine : 
he knew he could destroy them ; and this he hoped 
would render our blessed Saviour odious to the wicked 
inhabitants of Gadara. 

Though Jesus well knew his crafty design, yet he 
permitted the devils to enter the swine, that his disci- 
ples, and others who were with him, might be fully con- 
vinced these unhappy persons were really possessed by 
apostate spirits, and at the same time give them a ter- 



* See the note on page 108. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



117 



rible instance of their power when free from all re- 
straint. 

The divine permission was no sooner granted, than 
the spectators beheld, at a distance, the torments of these 
poor creatures, with what amazing rapidity they ran to 
the confines of the lake, leaped from the precipices into 
the sea, and perished in the waters ; while the persons 
who a moment before were raving and cutting themselves 
in the most shocking manner became at once meek and 
composed, having recovered entirely the exercise of their 
reason. 

The keepers of the herd, terrified at this astonishing 
miracle, ran into the city, publishing in every part the 
cure of the men possessed with the devils, and the de- 
struction of the swine. 

This surprising report threw the inhabitants into the 
greatest consternation : they left the city to be spectators 
of so wonderful an event ; but when they saw the men 
who had been possessed sitting at the feet of Jesus, 
decently clothed and in their right minds, their fear 
was increased. For, knowing they had trespassed in 
keeping the swine (which was contrary to tlie law of 
Moses), they dreaded a more severe punishment; and; 
being ignorant of the goodness of Jesus, though he had 
given them so remarkable a proof of it in the cure of 
these wretched mortals, they besought him that he 
would leave their country. 

There prevailed a custom among the heathen, when 
any illustrious hero had delivered his country from its 
enemies or from any other great evil, to erect proud 
columns to his memory ; his statue was seen in every 
place • altars blazed to his glory ; they honored him with 



\ 



118 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the high appellation of saviour," and thought nothing, 
not even divine honors, too great to confer upon him. 
But when Christ had removed a monster from the Gadar 
renes more formidable and fearful than any in heathen 
history, even a legion of devils, and rendered the way 
by which no man could pass before secure from danger, 
instead of being received by them as a Savioui and as 
the Son of God, with the acclamations and hr-^sannas 
of the people, he was besought to depart out of their 
coasts. Stupid people ! they had indeed lost their herd 
of swine, but surely the valuable gift they had received, 
in two of their countrymen and fellow-creatures being 
delivered from the tyranny of Satan, was better than 
the cattle on a thousand hills, and merited at least their 
thanks and acknowledgments. 

The request of the Gadarenes was, however, complied 
with by the blessed Jesus, who, entering the ship, 
returned to the country from whence he came, leaving 
them a valuable pledge of his love, and us a noble 
pattern of perseverance in well-doing even when our 
kindnesses are condemned or requited with injuries. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



119 



CHAPTER IX. 

OUR LORD PROCEEDS IN ACTS OF MERCY AND BENEVOLENCE 

ADDS MATTHEW TO THE NUMBER OF DISCIPLES — CASTS OUT 
AN EYIL SPIRIT PASSES AGAIN THROUGH GALILEE SE- 
LECTS TWELVE FROM AMONG HIS DISCIPLES, AS HIS CON- 
STANT FOLLOWERS AND COMPANIONS, AND ADDRESSES THE 
MULTITUDE IN AN EXCELLENT DISCOURSE. 

The return of our Saviour and his disciples to Caper- 
naum was no sooner published than such throngs of 
people were gathered together that the house could not 
contain them, nor even the court before it. He, how- 
ever, preached the words of eternal life to the listening 
audience, among whom were many Pharisees and doc- 
tors of the law, who, from the fame of his miracles, were 
come from all quarters to hear him. 

He not only addressed them in the most nervous and 
pathetic manner, in order to inculcate the doctrines he 
delivered, but also performed such astonishing miracles 
as ought to have removed all their scruples with regard 
to the truth of his mission. 

Among other instances he gave of his divine power 
was that of restoring a man to perfect health who had 
long been afflicted with the palsy, and was reduced by 
that terrible disease to the most melancholy condition, 
being unable to move any member of his body, but 
seemed rather an emaciated carcass than a man. This 
miserable object was brought on his bed by four persons, 
who, being unable to enter by the door, on account of 
the multitude, carried him to the top of the house, 



120 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



which, like the other roofs in that country, was flat and 
had a battlement round it, according to the direction 
given by Moses. Deut. xxii. 8. 

On these roofs there was a kind of trap-door, by which 
they came out of the houses upon the roofs, where they 
spent a considerable part of 'the day. It was also com- 
mon to have a flight of stairs from the garden to the 
roof, and by these the persons seem to have carried the 
sick of the palsy, but finding the door fastened, forced it 
open and uncovered the roof, and through the opening 
let down, by ropes, the sick of the palsy, lying on his 
bed, into the midst of the company, before Jesus ; who, 
seeing the faith of the friends of this afflicted person, 
had compassion on him, and spake aloud, Son, be of 
good cheer : thy sins are forgiven thee."* 

The Scribes, taking offence at this saying, cried out, 
This man speaketh blasphemy; for he appropriates that 
to himself which is solely the province of Omnipotence. 
^^Who can forgive sins, but Grod only?" They were 
ignorant that the person who uttered such gracious 
words was the Son of God, and, consequently, had the 
power of forgiving the sins of the human race. 

But our Lord, who had recourse to the most secret 
recesses of the heart, and was willing to show them that 
he was really endued with the Spirit of God, said to 
them, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For 
whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy. Thy 
sins be forgiven thee ; or to say. Arise, and take up thy 
bed and walk ?" These were questions beyond the abili- 
ties of the haughty Scribes to answer, and they held 



^ The text reads, " Jesus seeing their faith." Tliis expression seems 
properly to include the faith of the sick man, as well as that of his friends. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



121 



their peace. The blessed Jesus then added that the 
miracle he was going to perform would sufficiently de- 
monstrate that he had not usurped what did not in the 
strictest manner belong to him. And^ turning himself 
from those bigoted teachers of Israel toward the sick of 
the palsy, he said unto him, Arise ; take up thy bed,* 
and go unto thine house." Matt. ix. 6. 

Nor was this divine mandate any sooner given than 
the man was restored to his former health and strength, 
and, to the astonishment of all present, rose, took up 
his bed, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 
And all the people, when they saw this great work, ex- 
pressed the highest degree of surprise, mixed with admi- 
ration for the great honor the Almighty had conferred 
on human nature : They glorified God, who had given 
such power unto men." But ,-4th regard to the Scribes 
and Pharisees, though they must have been confounded 
at this miracle, yet they still continued in their unbe- 
lief ; an instance which should awaken in us the most 
serious thoughts, as it abundantly demonstrates that the 
palsy of the soul is a much more deplorable disease than 
the palsy of the body. 

The blessed Jesus, having wrought this miracle, re- 



* The bed of this sufferer, probably, was Hke that of the soldier, and 
the poorer sort in all countries, nothing more than a blanket, or the coarse 
outer garment, which was equally adapted by its form and texture to be 
used as a mantle by day and a bed by night. Exod. xxii. 26, 27. It could, 
therefore, be carried with ease, and could not be justly classed among the 
" burdens" forbidden on the Sabbath. 

Beds in the East were of three sorts. 1. The divan, or raised sofa, 
around the side of a room. 2. The mattress, or bed, somewhat resem- 
bling our own, spread upo:i a bedstead. Dent. iii. 11; 1 Sara. xix. 13-15. 
3. The outer garment above described. Deut. xxiv. 13. 



122 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



paired to the sea-side, and taught a multitude of people. 
What the subject of his sermon was, the evangelists 
have not told us ; but it was doubtless, like the rest, 
calculated to promote the eternal welfare of mankind. 

His discourse being ended, he returned to the city, 
and in his way saw Matthew, or Levi, the son of 
Alpheus, a rich publican,* sitting in his office, where the 
customs were levied, at the port of Capernaum, whom he 
ordered to follow him. Matthew immediately obeyed 
the summons, and followed the Saviour of the world, 
to pursue a far more honorable and important employ- 
ment — being afterward both an apostle and evangelist. 

Some little time after his call, he made a splendid en- 
tertainment for his master, inviting all the publicans he 
knew, hoping that by hearing the heavenly conversa- 
tion of Christ they might also repent and embrace the 
doctrines of the gospel. 

The self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees, who considered 
all men as sinners except themselves, especially the pub- 
licans, w^ere highly offended that one who called himself 

* Publicans were the revenue officers under the Eoman Government. 
They consisted of two classes, the principals and the subordinates. Some 
of the former (among- whom was Zaccheus) M^ere of highly respectable 
character ; but the latter were, as a class, infamous for their rapacity, cor- 
ruption, and cruelty. 

Among the Jews of our Saviour's time the Publicans were peculiarly 
odious, because they collected taxes for the Roman Government, which 
was offensive to their pride as foreign, and to their religion as heathen. 
Many even pleaded Deut. xvii. 15,- as justifying a refusal to pay taxes to 
the Emperor of Rome ; a perverse doctrine, repudiated by Christ in his 
admirable answer to the Pharisees and Herodians. Matt. xxii. 21. The 
conversion of Matthew (or Levi), and the association of Jesus with the 
Publicans, at the feast which he provided, was therefore excessively 
offensive to the Pharisees. The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican 
is a striking picture of their discordant feelin^^^s. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



123 



a prophet should so far demean himself as to be seen in 
the company of such men, and asked his disciples, with 
an air of insolence, in the hearing of all the guests, how 
their Master could sit down at the same table with pub- 
licans and sinners. 

Our Lord replied to this artful question, that the sick 
only had need of a physician, and desired them to reflect 
seriously on the prophet Hosea's declaration : I will 
have mercy and not sacrifice." The turning sinners into 
the path of righteousness, which is the highest act of 
benevolence, is far more acceptable to the Almighty 
than all the ceremonies of the law of Moses so highly 
magnified by your fraternity, who on many occasions 
observe them at the expense of charity; adding, ^^I am 
not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repent- 
ance." The chief object of my attention is the conver- 
sion of sinners. 

This answer, however satisfactory to an unprejudiced 
person, was far from being so to the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, who, joining with some of John's disciples then 
present, returned to Matthew's house, and demanded of 
Jesus why his disciples wholly neglected to fast — a duty 
often performed both by the rulers of Israel and the dis- 
ciples of John. To this the blessed Jesus replied. It is 
not a proper season for the friends of the bridegroom to 
fast and afflict themselves while they enjoy his com- 
pany ; " but the days will come when the bridegroom 
shall be taken away from them; and then they shall 
fast." The various calamities and afflictions that shall 
attend them after the departure of their Master shall 
cause them to fast; which they shall repeat as often as 
the circumstances of distress and dauger with which 



124 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tliey will be siirroiiiiclecl shall require ; and added^ that 
to have obliged his disciples to observe the precepts of 
frec|ueiit abstinence at a time Avhen he was employing 
them to preacli the gospel, by wliich all the legal cere- 
monies of the law were to be abolished, would have been 
as absurd as to sew a new piece of cloth upon a rotten 
garment, which would only malve the rent worse ; or to 
put new wine into old leatliern bottles, which on the 
first fermentation of the licjuor would burst ; indicating 
that infant virtue must not immediately be put to the 
greatest trials, lest it be destroyed by the severity of the 
exercise. 

During this controversy between our Lord and the 
haughty Scribes and Pliarisees in Matthew's house, 
Jairus. a ruler of the synagogue, came running to hinn 
in all the agonies of grief., and, in the presence of the 
whole company, fell on the ground before him, beseech- 
ing that he Avould come and heal his daughter, who lay 
at the point of death. 

When did the beneticent Jesus deny his gracious as- 
sistance to those who implored it of him ? He immedi- 
ately arose, and followed the ruler toward his house, 
surrounded by a great multitude of people, who were 
desirous of seeing so great a miracle. 

But. as he passed through the street, a woman who 
had for twelve years been afhicted with an issue or tlux 
of blood, and had spent her whole substance on phj'si- 
cians to no purpose, came behind him, and touched 
the hem of his garment ; for she said within herself, If 
I may but touch his clothes, I shall be well." Xor was 
she deceived ; for no sooner had she touched the border 
of the o'arment of the Son of God than her issue of blood 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



125 



dried up ; and she felt, by the return of her health and 
strength, and other agreeable sensations that accompany 
such sudden changes from painful diseases to perfect 
health, that the cure was absolutely complete. 

But this transaction could not be concealed : the 
blessed Jesus knew the whole, and her secret thoughts, 
before she put them into practice, and, pleased with the 
opinion this woman had entertained both of his power 
and goodness, would not by any means suffer it to pass 
un applauded. Accordingly, he turned himself about, 
and asked, '^Who touched me?" He well knew the 
person, but asked this question for the fuller manifesta- 
tion of the woman's faith, and that he might have an 
opportunity of instructing and comforting her. 

His disciples, being ignorant of what had passed, were 
surprised at the question. Thou seest," said they to 
their Master, ^Hhe multitude thronging and pressing 
thee; and sayest thou. Who touched me?" They could 
not distinguish between the spiritual and corporeal 
touch, nor knew that such efficacious virtue had gone 
out of their Master. Jesus, however, persisted in know- 
ing who it was that had done the thing ; and the woman, 
finding it in vain to conceal her action any longer, came 
to him trembling, and told him all. Perhaps the un- 
cleanness of her distemper was the reason of her fear, 
thinking he would be offended even at her touching the 
hem of his garment. But the divine Physician, flir from 
being angry, spoke to her in the kindest manner, and 
commended her faith, on which account he had con- 
sented to heal her plague : Daughter, be of good 
comfort : thy faith hath made thee whole." Matt, 
ix. 22. 



126 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Such a miraculous incident must doubless have greatly 
strengthened the ruler's faith ; for, behold, a virtue little 
inferior to that of raising the dead issues from the 
border of Christ's garment, and heals a disease which for 
the space of twelve years had baffled all the skill of the 
healing art and defied the power of medicine. Indeed, 
the faith of this ruler had great need of the strongest 
confirmation ; for news was brought him that his daugh- 
ter was even now dead, and therefore it was needless 
for him to give any further trouble to Jesus — not in the 
least suspecting he had power to recall the departed 
spirit and to reanimate the breathless body. 

This message was a terrible blow to the afiectionate 
parent. His only daughter, who a few days before was 
in the bloom of youth, was now a pale and lifeless 
corpse, and with her all his joys and comforts were fled. 
But Jesus, commiserating his grief, desired him to be 
comforted, promising that his daughter should be re- 
stored. 

On his coming to the ruler's house, he found it full 
of mourners, who made terrible lamentations, — a sufii- 
cient demonstration that the damsel was really dead ; 
and, accordingly, when our blessed Saviour desired the 
mourners to cease their funeral ceremonies, as the maid 
was not dead, but sleeping, they laughed him to scorn. 

It is necessary to remark in this place that the Jews, 
when they spoke of a person's death, styled it sleep, so 
to intimate their belief that his spirit existed in the 
happy scenes of paradise, and their hopes of a future re- 
surrection to life eternal. But the blessed Jesus used 
the word with remarkable propriety, to signify that 
though she was now locked in the cold embrace of death. 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



127 



jet he was going to release her from the power of the 
king of terrors, with the same ease as a person is awaked 
from sleep. Thus our blessed Saviour, in the very man- 
ner of performing a miracle, modestly declined the 
honor that would undoubedly result from a work so 
greatly superior to all the powers of men. 

Having thus briefly addressed the mourners, he en- 
tered the chamber where the damsel was lying, but 
suffered none to follow him except Peter, James, and 
John, together with the father and mother of the damsel. 
Probably his reason for suffering these only to be spec- 
tators of so stupendous a work was that they might have 
an opportunity of examining the whole transaction in 
the most careful manner, and be thence enabled after- 
ward to report it upon the fullest conviction and with 
every circumstance of credibility. 

The blessed Jesus now approached the body, took her 
by the hand, and, with a gentle voice, said, Maid, 
arise." The heavenly command was instantly obeyed : 
the damsel aro&e, as from a sleep, and with all the ap- 
pearance of health and vigor : for Jesus commanded to 
give her something to eat — a plain proof that she did 
not appear in the weak and languishing condition of a 
person worn out w^ith disease, or even like one who had 
fainted away — a circumstance that abundantly proves 
the greatness and perfection of the miracle. It is there- 
fore no wonder that her parents should be astonished at 
so stupendous a work, the fame of which was soon spread 
through all the neighboring country, though J esus, who 
was in every sense above praise, and therefore never 
courted it, had strictly charged them that they should 
tell no man what was done. 



128 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



These instances of power did the blessed Jesus display 
to convince the world that those who die in him are not 
dead, and that he hath the keys of life and death. 
Those also of the present age, who believe that the soul 
sleeps with the body till the resurrection, will do well 
to consider the expression of the evangelist, Her spirit 
came again," Luke viii. 55, which sufficiently shows 
that the soul exists separately when the body is laid in 
the chambers of the grave. 

Our blessed Saviour, having performed this benevolent 
miracle, left the ruler's house, and was followed through 
the streets by two blind men, imploring assistance. Nor 
did they implore in vain : the Eedeemer of mankind 
was, and still is, always ready to grant the petitions of 
those who apply to him for relief. Accordingly, he was 
no sooner entered into a house, to avoid the thronging 
multitude, than he touched their eyes, and said, "Ac- 
cording to your faith, be it unto you," Matt. ix. 29, and 
immediately the invaluable gift of sight was bestowed 
upon them. 

The blind men were so overjoyed at beholding the 
li'iht, that, though our Saviour charged them to keep 
the miracle a secret, they published his fame in every 
part of the country, being unwilling to conceal what, in 
gratitude for so great a mercy, they thought themselves 
obliged to divulge. 

The men who had thus miraculously received their 
sight being departed, the multitude brought to him a 
dumb man possessed with a devil. So moving a sight 
could not fail of attracting a compassionate regard 
from the Saviour of the world, who, being never weary 
of well doing, immediately cast out the apostate spirit ; 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



129 



on which the dumb man recovered the use of his speech, 
and spoke in a very rational manner to the multitude, 
who with one voice declared that such wondrous works 
were never wrought by any of the old prophets : It 
was never so seen in Israel." Matt. ix. 33. These 
works did not remove the prejudice of the Pharisees, 
who, being unable to deny the miracles, insinuated that 
he did it by a power received from Beelzebub, the prince' 
of the devils. A poor pretence, indeed ! and it did not 
escape the animadversion it deserved from the Saviour 
of the world, as we shall see in a succeeding chapter. 
"Well might the prophet Isaiah cry out, Who hath 
believed our report ? and to whom is the arm of the 
Lord revealed ?" 

But all their calumnies could not provoke the meek 
and merciful Jesus to cease from performing these com- 
passionate offices for the children of men. On the 
contrary, he exerted himself still more and more to 
promote the prosperity of the whole human race. Ac- 
cordingly, he left Capernaum, and travelled through 
the country in search of miserable objects, on which 
he might confer happiness and peace, visiting all the 
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and 
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every 
sickness and every disease among the people." Matt, 
ix. 35. 

On his return from this tour to Capernaum, he was 
attended by a great number of people, who expressed a 
more than common desire to hear the doctrine of the 
gospel — an incident abundantly sufficient to engage the 
attention of this divine Teacher, who was ever careful 



130 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to cultivate the latent seeds of virtue, and cherish the 
least appearance of piety and religion. 

It was not this desire of the people alone that excited 
his compassion toward them : he well knew they were 
wholly destitute of spiritual teachers ; for the Scribes 
and Pharisees, who ought to have instructed them, were 
blind, perverse, and lazy guides, who, instead of seeking 
the glory of the Almighty, made it their whole business 
to support and augment their own. They magnified 
the ritual ceremonies and traditions, but took no care 
to inspire the people with a love of virtue : " to do jus- 
tice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God," were 
no parts of their doctrine. The small appearance of re- 
ligion they entertained was wholly hypocritical ; and the 
disputes carried on wdth so much bitterness between the 
factions of the Pharisees and Sadducees distracted the 
minds of the people. 

The inhabitants of Judea were truly in a deplorable 
state, which called loudly for the compassion of the Son 
of God, who always regarded the descendants of Jacob 
with the most tender affection. He saw the sheep of 
Israel scattered on the barren wastes of error and super- 
stition, without a shepherd to lead them to the heavenly 
pastures of the law and the prophets. He saw, he com- 
miserated their distress, and resolved to provide some 
remedy for it. Accordingly, he directed his disciples to 
intercede with the Almighty, who, by his servants the 
prophets, had sown the seeds of piety and virtue in the 
minds of the Jews, that he would not suffer the rich har- 
vest to be lost for want of laborers. The harvest," 
said the blessed Jesus to his disciples, "truly is plente- 
ous, but the laborers are ft'w. Pray ye therefore the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



131 



Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into 
his harvest " Matt. iv. 37, 38. 

To these gracious acts he added the most powerful 
of all intercessions to the throne of grace — his own pre- 
vailing prayer — and, accordingly, ascended to the top 
of a mountain, and there spent the night in making the 
most powerful petitions in behalf of the lost sheep of 
Israel to his heavenly Father. 

Having spent the night in this pious exercise, he lost 
no time in putting his beneficent intentions in execu- 
tion ; for no sooner had darkness withdrawn her sable 
vail, and the blushing rays of the morn adorned the 
chambers of the east, than the benevolent Redeemer of 
mankind called his disciples to him, and chose twelve, 
whom he named Apostles, to be with him, and that he 
might send them forth to preach. He ordered them to 
be with him, that they might learn from his own mouth 
the doctrines they were to preach to the whole world ; 
that they might see his glory, and the transcendent 
glory of the virtues which adorned his human life ; that 
they might be witnesses of all the wondrous works he 
should perform during his residence in this vale of misery, 
and by which his mission from the courts of heaven was 
to be fully demonstrated.* 

These twelve persons, thus qualified, were to supply 
the people with that spiritual food they so greatly 
wanted, both while their Master continued here below, 
and after his ascension to the right hand of power. 
And, that nothing might be wanted to render their 
preaching acceptable to the people, and confirm the im^ 
portant doctrines they delivered, he invested them with 



* See note page 474. 



1 
I 

132 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

full power to cure all diseases, cast out devils, and even 
to raise the dead. 

All these persons being illiterate Galileans, and, at 
first, destitute of the qualifications necessary to the dis- 
charge of their duty, integrity alone excepted, were the 
most unlikely persons in the world to confound the 
wisdom of the wise, baffle the power of the mighty, 
overturn the many false religions which then flourished 
everywhere, under the protection of the civil govern- ^ 
ment, and in short, to reform the manners of mankind, 
then universally corrupted. 

Yet the religion which these illiterate Galileans taught 
through the world, exhibited afar juster notion of things 
than the Grecian and Eoman philosophers were able to 
attain, though their lives were spent in study and con- 
templation. Hence, by its own intrinsic splendor, as 
well as by the glory of its miracles, and the energy of 
the Holy Spirit, this religion appeared to be wholly 
original and divine. 

It was, therefore, with the highest wisdom that the 
foundations of the Church were laid in the labors of a 
few illiterate fishermen ; for it irresistibly demonstrated 
that the immense fabric was at first raised, and is still 
sustained, by the hand of the Almighty. 

After appointing the twelve apostles, he came down 
from the mountain, and was joyfully received by the 
multitudes of people who were waiting for him in the 
plain and pressed to touch him, well knowing that if 
they could only touch the hem of his garment they 
should be healed of whatever distemper they were 
afflicted with — a sufficient reason why they were con- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



133 



tinually waiting for him and were willing to accompany 
him even to the remotest corners of the wilderness. 

The preaching and miracles of oar Lord were attended 
to, not bj the low and vulgar only, but persons of the 
first rank and character came from distant parts of the 
country to converse with him, hear his doctrine, and he 
spectators of his wonderful works. It therefore evi- 
dently appears that persons of all ranks were desirous 
of following him ; and their desire could be founded 
on nothing but the truth of his doctrines and mira- 
cles. 

After healing all the sick among the multitude, he 
turned toward his disciples, and delivered a divine dis- 
course, something like that he had before preached to 
them on the mountain ; but in the former he only pro- 
nounced blessings, whereas in the latter he added curses 
also ; and in this principally it differs from that recorded 
by St. Matthew. We shall therefore only select a few 
passages from the sermon now delivered, as we have 
given a larger paraphrase on the other. 

Woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have leceived 
your consolation." Luke vii. 24. Riches, considered 
in themselves, by no means render us the objects of the 
Almighty's hatred, unless accompanied by those vices 
which too often flow from an opulent fortune, as luxury, 
covetousness, and the like. The woe, therefore, is here 
denounced against those only who are contaminated with 
these vices ; for those who make a proper use of their 
wealth, and possess the virtues \t^hich should accompany 
affluence, have no share in the malediction. 

" Woe unto you that are full ! for ye shall hunger." 
The pain ye shall suffer in a future life shall be sharp 



134 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



and excruciating. The opportunities you have neglected 
of doing good to your afflicted brethren in this life 
shall then be remembered with the most poignant grief 
and bewailed with the most bitter lamentations. 

" Woe unto you that laugh now ! for ye shall mourn 
and weep." This malediction of our blessed Saviour is 
not inconsistent with the apostle's precept, which com- 
mands Christians always to rejoice. Neither is the 
mirth against which the woe is here denounced to be 
understood of that constant cheerfulness of temper which 
arises in the breasts of true Christians from the comfort- 
able and cheerful doctrine with which they are enlight- 
ened by the gospel, the assurance they have of recon- 
ciliation with God, and the hope they have of everlasting 
life, and the pleasure they enjoy in the practice of the 
duties of religion ; but it relates to that turbulent carnal 
mirth, that excessive levity and vanity of spirit, which 
arises not from any solid foundation, but from sensual 
pleasures, or those vain amusements of life in which the 
gidd}^ and gay contrive to spend their time — that sort 
of mirth which dissipates thought, leaves no time for 
consideration, and gives them an utter aversion to all 
serious reflections. Persons who constantly indulge 
themselves in this kind of mirth shall weep and mourn 
eternally, when they are excluded from the joys of 
heaven and banished forever from the presence of God, 
by the light of whose countenance all the righteous are 
enlivened and made transcendently happy. 

Woe unto you when* all men shall speak well of you ! 
for so did their fathers to the false prophets." Woe 
unto you if, by propagating such doctrines as encourage 
me/i in sin, you shall gain to yourselves the applause 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 13 -J 

and flattery of the generality of men ! for thus in old 
times did the false prophets and deceivers, who, accom- 
modating their doctrines to the lusts and passions of 
men, gained their applause, but incurred the wrath and 
displeasure of a just and all-seeing God. 



CHAPTER X. 

CONTINUATION OF OUR LORD'S GLORIOUS DOCTRINES BENEFI- 
CENT ACTS AND ASTONISHING MIRACLES WROUGHT IN CON- 
FIRMATION OF THE DIVINITY OF HIS MISSION, AND THE 
EXTENDING OF HIS HEAVENLY KINGDOM. 

The divine Preacher having closed this excellent 
sermon, repaired to Capernaum, and was met by certain 
messengers from a centurion, desiring him to come 
and heal a servant who was dear to him and ready to 
die. 

This centurion, from the account given of him by the 
evangelist, seems to have been a proselyte to the Jewish 
religion, as he was a lover of the sons of Jacob and had 
erected for them a place of worship ; and accordingly 
the inhabitants of Capernaum strongly espoused his cause 
on this occasion, saying, that he was worthy for whom 
he should do this. For he loveth our nation, and he 
hath built us a synagogue." Luke vii. 4, 5. 

There was not the least danger that this petition 



136 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



would be rejected by the blessed Jesus, wbo sought all 
occasions of doing good to the children of men. Ac- 
cordingly, he very readily accompanied the messengers; 
but before he came to the house he was met by some 
of the centurion's friends, who expressed the high idea 
that officer entertained of his power, and desired that he 
would not take the trouble of coming to his house, as a 
word was abundantly sufficient to perform the cure. At 
this message Jesus turned himself about, and said to the 
multitude, I say unto you, I have not found so great 
faith, no, not in Israel." Luke vii. 9. 

The persons, having delivered their message, returned 
to the house, and found the servant, who had been sick, 
perfectly recovered. 

Having thus miraculously healed the centurion's ser- 
vant, he repaired to Peter's house to eat bread ; but the 
multitude came again together, and surrounded the 
house in a tumultuous manner, demanding, in all 
probability, that he would heal their sick ; and it was 
not without difficulty they were dispersed by his 
friends. 

The multitude being dispersed, Jesus called unto him 
the twelve apostles he had before chosen, and delivered 
them such instructions as he thought necessary to ena- 
ble them to discharge the duties of this important com- 
mission. 

"Go," said their heavenly Master, and preach, 
saying. The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Publish 
in every corner of Judea the glad tidings of the gospel, 
and the near approach of the Messiah's kingdom — ^not a 
temporal, but a spiritual empire, consisting of righteous- 
ness and peace. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



137 



To inure them to those hardships and dangers which 
were to attend them in their preaching after the death 
of their Master, our Lord forbade them to provide any 
thing for their journey — teaching them to rely wholly 
on the providence of God for support in every distress, 
and to have recourse to his protection in every danger. 

Oar Lord's disciples had perhaps flattered themselves 
with the pleasing expectation that the glad tidings they 
were going to publish, and the miraculous cures they 
were enabled to perform, would procure them an honor- 
able reception wherever they came. Their Master, how- 
•^ver, told them the event would not in any manner an- 
swer their expectations, but that they were everywhere 
to be despised, persecuted, delivered into the hands of 
the rulers, and punished as wicked men. But at the 
same time he promised them the aid of the Almighty, 
and gave them instructions how to behave in every par- 
ticular. He added that those who rejected their message 
should be treated with severity by the Great Judge of 
all the earth ; but those who received them kindly, and 
gave even a cup of cold water to the least of his disci- 
ples for their Master's sake, should not fail of receiving 
a large reward. 

Having received this commission and being sent out 
two by two, for mutual counsel and help, the apostles 
visited all parts of Palestine, where the Jews inhabited, 
preaching the doctrine of repentance, working miracles 
for its confirmation, and particularly healing the sick, 
while our blessed Lord continued the course of his min- 
istry in Galilee. 

The apostles being returned from their tour, Jesus 
went to Nain, a town situated near Endor, about two 



138 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



miles south of Mount Tabor, attended by many of his 
disciples and a great multitude of his peojole. 

On their coming to the entrance of the city, a melan- 
choly scene presented itself to the eyes of Jesus and his 
followers : ^^Behold, there was a dead man carried out, 
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow." 
Luke vii. 12. Who would not have imagined that God 
had indeed " forgotten to be gracious, and, in his anger, 
shut up his tender mercies" from this poor widow, suf- 
fering under the heaviest load, and laboring under the 
most oppressive burden of distress ? Deprived of her 
son, her only son, in the flower of his youth, when he 
might have repaid his mother's toils and been to her in 
the place of a husband — of that husband she had long 
since lost, and whose loss was supportable only through 
the comfort of this child, the surviving image of his de- 
parted father, the balm of her grief, the hope of her 
afflicted soul — who now shall administer consolation to 
this solitary widow^ to this lonely parent, bereaved of 
her husband, deprived of her child ? What misery can 
be more complicated ? What can be more natural than 
that she should '^refuse to be comforted," that she should 
"go down to the grave with mourning," and visit the 
chambers of death, the residence of the beloved remains 
of her husband and her son, with inconsolable sorrow ? 

Toward this receptacle of mortality, that dreary waste 
of for getf nine ss, the mournful funeral was now, with 
slow and solemn pomp, advancing, when the compas- 
sionate Redeemer of mankind met the melancholy pro- 
cession, composed of a long train of her weeping neigh- 
bors and relations, who pitied her distress, sympathized 
with her in this great affliction, and were melted with 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



139 



compassion at her deplorable circumstances. But siglis 
and tears were all they had to offer : relief could not be 
expected from a human being : their commiseration, 
though grateful to her oppressed soul, could neither re- 
store the husband nor the son : submission and patience 
were the only lessons they could preach or this afflicted 
daughter of Israel learn. 

But, though man was unable to relieve the distresses 
of this disconsolate widow, the Saviour of the world, 
who beheld the melancholy procession, was both able 
and willing to do it. There was no need of a powerful 
solicitor to implore assistance from the Sod of God : his 
own compassion was abundantly sufficient. When the 
Lord saw her, he had compassion on her : he both sought 
the patient and offered the cure unexpectedly. " Weep 
not," said the blessed Jesus to this afflicted woman. 
Alas ! it had been wholly in vain to bid her refrain from 
tears, who had lost her only child, the sole comfort of 
her age, without ministering the balm of comfort to heal 
her broken spirit. This our Redeemer well knew : and 
therefore, immediately advancing toward the corpse, 

he touched the bier." The pomp of the funeral was 
instantly stopped ; silence closed every mouth, and ex- 
pectation filled the breast of every spectator. But this 
deep suspense did not long continue : that glorious voice, 
which shall one day call our dead bodies from the grave, 
filled their ears with these remarkable words : " Young- 
man, I say unto thee, arise." Nor was this powerful 
command uttered without its effect. He spake, and it 
was done :" he called with authority, and immediately 

he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And 
he restored him to his mother." lie did not show him 



140 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



around to the multitude, but, by a singular act of mod- 
esty and humanityj delivered him to his late afflicted, 
now astonished and rejoicing, mother, to intimate that 
in compassion to her great distress he had wrought this 
stupendous miracle. 

A holy and awful fear fell on all who heard and saw 
this astonishing event ; " and they glorified God, saying 
that a great prophet is risen up amongst us, and that 
God hath visited his people." 

Here it must be observed that, as this miracle is liable 
to no objection, it therefore abundantly proves that the 
power of the blessed Jesus was truly and absolutely 
divine. He met this funeral procession by accident. It 
was composed of the greatest part of the inhabitants of 
the city, who bewailed the disconsolate state of the 
afflicted widow, and therefore well knew that the j^outh 
was really dead. The powerful word which called the 
breathless body to life was delivered in an audible voir e, 
before all the company, and even at the very gate of 
the city, the place of public resort. 

This miracle, with others amply attested, abundantly 
evinces the truth of our Saviour's mission, and that he 
was indeed the Son of God, the Kedeemer of mankind. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



141 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE CHARACTER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST CLEARED AND JUSTI- 
FIED BY THE BLESSED JESUS HE VISITS SIMON, THE 

PHARISEE — DISPLAY OF OUR LORD's HUMILITY AND CONDE- 
SCENSION. 

We have taken notice, in a foregoing chapter, that 
Herod, incensed at the honest freedom of the Baptist in 
reproving his adulterous commerce with Herodias, his 
brother Philip's wife, had cast him into prison; and 
in this confinement he still continued, though his disci- 
ples were suffered to visit and converse with him. In 
one of these visits they had given him an account of 
our Saviour's having elected twelve apostles to preach 
the gospel, and of his miracles, particularly of his rais- 
ing to life the daughter of Jairus and the son of the 
widow of Nain. On hearing these wonderful relations, 
the Baptist despatched two of his disciples to Jesus, to 
ask him this important question: Art thou he that 
should come, or do we look for another ?" 

Accordingly, the disciples of John came to Jesus, and 
proposed the question of their master, at the very time 
when he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, 
and of evil spirits ; and to many that were blind he gave 
sight." Jesus, therefore, instead of directly answering 
their question, bade them return and inform their mas- 
ter what they had seen : Go," said he, and show 
John again those things which ye do hear and see : the 
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk ; the lepers 
are cleansed, and the deaf hear ; the dead are raised up, 



142 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and the poor have the gospel preached to them." Matt, 
xi. 4j 5. Go tell your master that the very miracles 
the prophet Isaiah so long since foretold should be 
wrought by the Messiah you have yourselves seen per- 
formed. 

It appears from the Scriptures that the Baptist, 
through the whole course of his ministry, had borne 
constant and ample testimony to our Saviour's divine 
mission, that he exhorted those who came to him to 
rest their faith not on himself, but on him that should 
come after him," and that as soon as he was acquainted 
who Jesus w^as, by a visible descent of the Holy Ghost 
and a voice from heaven, he made it his business to dis- 
pose the Jews in general, and his own disciples in par- 
ticular, to receive and reverence him, b}^ testifying 
everywhere that he was the Son of God, the Lamb of 
God, who came down from heaven and spake the words 
of God, and to whom God had given the Spirit not by 
measure." 

The Baptist, therefore, well knew who Jesus was, 
and consequently did not send his disciples to ask this 
question, to solve any doubt in his mind. But it was 
doubtless in part to satisfy his own disciples, that Jesus 
was the Messiah so long expected by the Jews, and to 
engage them to follow a more perfect Master, especially 
as he was on the point of leaving the world. But, 
besides this, the question had actually some reference to 
himself, and may intimate his wonder, that while J esus 
was sending out twelve apostles to preach, with the 
power of working miracles, no miracle was wrought in 
his behalf to release him from prison, that he might 
return to the work of preaching. In this view the 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



U3 



answer of Jesus, at the close, has a personal as v/ell as 
general application : ^^And blessed is he whosoever shall 
not be offended in me :" as if he had said, When you 
have informed your master of what you have seen and 
heard, tell him that he would do well not to be offended, 
either at the choice of the apostles, or that no miracle 
has been wrought for his release. 

Lest the people, from this conversation, should infer 
any thing unfavorable to the character of the Baptist, 
he took occasion to praise his invincible courage and 
constancy. John was no reed shaken by the wind," 
no fawning parasite in ^Hhe palaces of kings;" "but a 
prophet; nay, more than a prophet. For this is he 
of whom it is written, ^Behold, I send my messenger 
before thy face, which shall prepare the way before 
thee " nevertheless, he added, " he that is least in the 
kingdom of heaven is greater than he :" that is, the least 
apostle or preacher of the Gospel constantly attending 
on Jesus, is much better acquainted with his character, 
disposition, and doctrine, than the Baptist who had only 
transiently seen him. 

Having thus shown the greatness of the Baptist, and 
wherein he was surpassed by the disciples, our blessed 
Saviour took occasion from thence to blame the per- 
verseness of the age in rejecting both the Baptist's tes- 
timony and his own. 

It seems that the Scribes and Pharisees, seeing their 
pretended mortifications eclipsed by the real austerity 
of the Baptist, affirmed that his living in the deserts, 
his shunning the company of men, the coarseness of his 
clothing, the abstemiousness of his diet, and the other 
severities he practised, were the effects of his being pes- 



144 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



sessed by an evil spirit or of a religious melancholy. 

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they 
say, He hath a devil." Matt. xi. 18. 

On the other hand, they would not listen to the 
heavenly doctrines preached by Christ, because he did 
not separate himself from society — attributing his free 
manner of living to a certain looseness of disposition, 
though they well knew that he observed the strictest 
temperance himself, and never encouraged the vices of 
others, either by dissimulation or example: "The Son 
of man came eating and drinking; and they say. Behold 
a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publi- 
cans and sinners. But Wisdom is justified of her chil- 
dren." Matt. xi. 19. 

He next proceeded to upbraid the several cities where 
his most wonderful works had been performed. For 
though they had heard him preach many awakening 
sermons, and seen him perform such astonishing miracles 
as would have converted Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, cities 
infamous for their impiety, contempt of religion, pride, 
luxury, and debauchery, yet so great was their obstinacy, 
that they persisted in their wickedness, notwithstanding 
all he had done to convert them from the evil of their 
ways. Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, 
Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works which were done in 
you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have 
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say 
unto you. It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon 
at the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Caper- 
naum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought 
down to hell ; for if the mighty works which have been 
done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have re- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



145 



mained unto this day. But I say unto you, That it 
shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day 
of judgment than for thee." Matt. xi. 21, etc. 

Having denounced these judgments on the cities 
which had neglected to profit by his mighty works, he 
concluded his discourse with these heavenly words: 

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, 
and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and 
ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, 
and my burden is light." Matt. xi. 28, etc. 

Having concluded this public address, one of the 
Pharisees (named Simon) desired he would eat with 
him." The blessed Jesus accepted the invitation, ac- 
companied him to his house, and sat down to meat. 

He had not been long at the table before a woman 
who had lately left the paths of vice for those of virtue 
placed herself behind him, and, from a deep conviction 
of her former crimes, and the obligations she owed the 
Saviour of mankind for bringing her to a sense of them, 
shed such torrents of tears that they flowed down on his 
feet. But, observing that her tears had wet the feet of 
her beloved Instructor, she wiped them with the hairs 
of her head, kissed them with the most ardent affection, 
and anointed them with precious ointment she had 
brought for the purpose. 

It was a custom among the inhabitants of the East to 
pour fragrant oils on the heads of such guests as they 
intended particularly to honor, while they sat at meat ; 
and probably the woman's original intention was to 
anoint J esus in the usual manner. But, being exceed- 
ingly humble on account of her former crimes, she could 

10 



146 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



not presume to take that freedom with him, and there- 
fore poured it on his feet, to express at once the great- 
ness of her love and the profoundness of her humility. 
The Pharisee, who had attentively observed the woman, 
concluded from thence that our Saviour could not be a 
prophet. " This man," said the Pharisee to himself, ^'if 
he were a prophet, would have known who and what 
manner of woman this is that toucheth him ; for she is 
a sinner." Luke vii. 39. 

But, though Simon spoke this only in his heart, his 
thoughts were not concealed from the Great Redeemer 
of mankind, who, to convince him that he was a prophet, 
and that he knew not only the character of men, but 
even the secret thoughts of their hearts, immediately 
conversed with him on the very subject he had been re- 
volving in his mind. He did not, indeed, expose him 
before the company by relating what he had said in 
secret, but, with remarkable delicacy pointed out to 
Simon alone the unreasonableness of his thoughts. 
" Simon," said the blessed Jesus, I have somewhat to 
say unto thee. There was a certain creditor which had 
two debtors : the one owed five hundred pence, and the 
other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he 
frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which 
of them will love him most ? Simon answered and said, 
I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he 
said unto him. Thou hast rightly judged." And then 
immediately he applied this parable to the subject of the 
woman, on which the Pharisee had so unjustly reasoned 
with himself "Simon," continued our Saviour, ^^seest 
tliou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou 
gavest me no water for my feet : but she hath washed 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



147 



my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of 
her head. Thou gavest me no kiss : but this woman, 
since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my 
feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint : but this 
woman hath anointed my feet with ointment." Luke 
vii. 40-46. 

This woman's kind services were in no danger of 
losing their reward from the blessed Jesus, who possessed 
the softer and finer feelings of human nature in their 
utmost perfection. Accordingly, he added, in pursu- 
ance of so kind an invitation he had before made to 
weary and heavy-laden sinners, " Wherefore I say unto 
thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for she 
loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the same 
loveth little." Luke vii. 47. 

The blessed Jesus, having thus commended the con- 
duct of the woman to the company, and rebuked with 
great delicacy the unjust suspicions of Simon, turned 
himself to the woman, and, in the kindest manner, as- 
sured her that ^^her sins were forgiven." But the power 
he assumed in forgiving sins greatly offended the Jews, 
who, not being acquainted with his divinity, considered 
his speech as derogatory to the honor of the Almighty. 
Jesus, however, contemned their malicious murmurs, 
and repeated his assurance, telling the woman that her 
faith had saved her, and bade her depart in peace. 

The next day Jesus k'avelled from Capernaum to 
different parts of Galilee, going ^ throughout every city 
and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of 

* The conjunction " for," in this place, denotes (as the whole context 
shows) not the moral ground of forgiveness, but the logical evidence 
arising from its effect 



148 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the kingdom of God." Luke viii. 1. That is, he de- 
clared to the people the welcome tidings of the 
Almighty's being willing to be reconciled to the children 
of men on condition of their repentance and embracing 
the gospel of the grace of God. Leaving Galilee, he 
repaired to Jerusalem to keep the passover, being the 
second feast of that kind since his public ministry.* In 

* In a popular work of this kind, it has not been thought proper to 
say much in the notes on difficulties which different Harmonists have 
found in arranging the artless narratives of the Evangelists into chro- 
nological order. We do not think our author always successful in this 
matter. 

The following outline of the chronology of our Lord's Ministry is im- 
portant to be kept in view, adopting, for convenience, the dates of Arch- 
bishop Usher. 

Christ is baptized A. D. 29, in October. Six months after, he attends 
his first Passover at Jerusalem, April, A. D. 30. Johnii. Most of that 
year (from the summer to winter) he spends in Judea, teaching and bap- 
tizing disciples. About January, A. D. 31, after John is imprisoned, he 
returns through Samaria into Galilee. J ohn iii. iv. Three months later, 
he attends his second Passover at Jerusalem. John v. On his return 
to Galilee, he chooses the Twelve, and labors there for over a year and a 
half, or to the Feast of Tabernacles, October, A. J). 32, when he leaves 
Galilee finally, and goes up privately to Jerusalem. John vii. The next 
four months is spent chiefly in Perea, east of the Jordan, in Herod's ju- 
risdiction, visiting Jerusalem only at the feasts. John viii.-x. In Feb- 
ruary, A. D. 33, he is recalled from Perea to Bethany, and raises Lazarus, 
retiring for a short time to the city &f Ephraim (John xi.), whence, by the 
way of Jericho, he goes up to Jerusalem to attend his fourth and last 
Passover, in April, A. D. 33. Thus his whole Ministry, from his baptism 
to his death, was extended through three years and a half, divided as 
above. Whether he attended the Passover of A. D. 32 is unknown ; but 
is rendered probable, by his care punctually to fulfil the whole law, not- 
withstanding the deadly hostility of the Jewish rulers. 

The real problem of the Harmony is to fix the different acts, miracles, 
discourses, and parables of Jesus in their proper order, within these lead- 
ing divisions of time and place. The more accurately this is done, the 
more impressive do they appear, as each derives new light from its con- 
nectioT^ with the rest. 



149 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



this journey he was accompanied by certain pious 
women, who ministered to him of their substance." 



CHAPTEE XIl. 

MIRACULOUS CURE EFFECTED AT THE POOL OF BETHESDA — 
REPROOF OF THE SUPERSTITION OF THE JEWS IN" CONDEMN- 
ING THE PERFORMANCE OF NECESSARY WORKS ON THE 

SABBATH DAY AFTER DOING MANY ACTS OF MERCY AND 

WONDER, OUR BLESSED LORD IS VISITED BY HIS MOTHER 
AND HIS BRETHREN, AND MAKES A SPIRITUAL REFLECTION 
ON THAT INCIDENT. 

Our Lord had no sooner entered the ancient city of 
Jerusalem, so long famous for being the dwelling-place 
of the Most High, than he repaired to the public bath 
or pool, called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda," that 
is, the house of mercy," on account of cures wrought 
there by the salutary effects of the water at certain 
seasons. This bath was surrounded by five porches or 
cloisters, in which those who frequented the place were 
sheltered both from the heat and cold, and were par tic u- 

If the above views are correct, it will follow that our author has crowded 
into the first three months of our Lord's ministry in Galilee, after John's 
imprisonment, a mass of events which might more than fill a year. 
Although, therefore, the Passover he describes in the next cliapter is 
really the second, it be'ongs to a much earlier period in the history ; as far 
back as chapter vi. or » n. 



150 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



larly serviceable to the diseased and infirm who crowded 
thither to find relief in their afflictions. 

These porches were now filled with a great multi- 
tude of impotent folk — of blind, halt, withered — waiting 
for the moving of the water. For an angel went down 
at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water : 
whosoever then first after the troubling of the water 
stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he 
had."* John V. 3, 4. 

Among these objects of pitj was one who had labored 
under his infirmity no less than thirty-and-eight years. 
The length and greatness of this man's afflictions, which 
were well known to the Son of God, were sufficient to 
excite his tender compassion and make him happy to 
demonstrate that his power of healing was infinitely 
superior to the sanative virtue of the waters : while tb 
rest were suffered to remain in their afflictions. 

Had not our Lord at this time restored any of them 
to health, he would not have acted contrary to the general 
account which the evangelists give of his goodness on 
other occasions — namely, "that he healed all who came 
to him." For such diseased persons who left their habi- 
tations through a persuasion of his power and kindness 



^ Dr. Robinson thinks the pool of Bethesda is the same as that now 
called the " Fountain of the Virgin," in the lower part of the Yalley of 
Jehoshaphat, just southeast of Jerusalem. This pool is of great antiquity, 
fifteen feet long, and five or six wide, and is reached by descending two 
flights of steps. Its waters rise and fall at irregular intervals, but possess 
no curative power. Hence, it would seem, that if such power existed in 
the days of Christ, it was of supernatural origin, and of a transient char- 
acter, as described in the text. How marked is the superiority of that 
spiritual fountain opened by the Saviour, which heals the soul of sin and 
unclea mess, and which never ceases to flow. Zech. xiii. 1- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



151 



were proper objects of mercy ; whereas the sick in the 
cloisters of Bethesda were no more so than the other 
sick throughout the whole country, whom he could have 
cured with a single word of his mouth, had he been 
pleased to have uttered it. 

Our compassionate Lord now approached the man 
whom be had singled out as the person on whom to 
manifest his power : he asked him whether he was de- 
sirous of being made whole — a question which must 
have induced the man to declare publicly his melan- 
choly case in the hearing of the multitude, and conse- 
quently rendered the miracle more conspicuous. And, 
as this was done on the Sabbath day, our blessed Saviour 
seems to have wrought it to rouse the sons of Jacob 
from their lethargy, and convince the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem that the long-expected Messiah was now come 
and had actually visited his people. 

The distressed mortal, beholding Jesus with a sorrow- 
ful countenance, and understanding that he meant his 
being healed by the sanative virtue of the waters^ 
answered, Sir, I have no man when the water is trou- 
bled to put me into the pool ; but while I am coming, 
another steppeth down before me." John v, 7. But 
the compassionate Redeemer of mankind soon convinced 
him that he was not to owe his cure to the salutary 
nature of the waters, but to the unbounded power of the 
Son of God, and accordingly said to him, " Rise : take 
up thy bed and walk." No sooner was the heavenly 
mandate uttered than the impotent man, to the aston- 
ishment of the multitude, " was made whole, and took 
up his bed, and walked," John v. 9. 

This great and miraculous cure could not fail of having 



152 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



a great effect on the spectators ; and his carrying his 
bed on the Sabbath day — which the Jews considered as 
a profanation of that day of rest * — tended greatly to 
spread the fame of the miracle over the whole city. Nor 
did the man scruple to obey the commands of his kind 
Physician : he well knew that the person who had the 
power of working such miracles must be a great prophet, 
and consequently, that his injunction could not be sinful. 
He therefore thought that he gave a sufficient answer to 
those Jews who told him it was not lawful to carry his 
bed on the Sabbath day, to say, He that made me 
whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and 
walk." John v. 11. He that restored my strength in 
an instant, and removed with a single word a disease 
that had many years afflicted me, commanded me at the 
same time to take up my bed and walk 5 and surely a 
person endued with such power from on high would 
not have ordered me to do any thing but what is truly 
right. ; 

The votaries of infidelity should remember that this 
signal miracle was performed in an instant, and even 
when the patient did not expect any such favor, nor 
even know the person to whom he owed it. No one, 
therefore, can pretend that imagination had any share 
in performing it. In short, the narrative of this miracle 
of mercy sufficiently proves that the person who did it 
was really divine. 

The Jews had long expected the Messiah ; but they 
had expected him to appear as a temporal prince, who 
would not only restore the former lustre of the throne 



* See the note on page 121. 



I 



I 

! 
1 



I 



I 
I 



i 



* 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 153 

of David, but infinitely augment it, and even place it 
over all the kingdoms of the earth. And hence they 
were unwilling to acknowledge Jesus for their Messiah, 
notwithstanding the proofs of his mission were undenia- 
ble, because they must, in so doing, have abandoned all 
their grand ideas of a temporal kingdom. Our blessed 
Saviour, therefore, desired them to consult their own 
Scriptures, particularly the writings of the prophets, 
where they would find the character of the Messiah dis- 
played and be fully convinced they were all fulfilled in 
his person. 

He also gave them to understand that the proofs of 
his mission were as full and clear as possible, being sup- 
ported by the actions of his life, which in all things 
agreed with his doctrines ; for he never sought the ap- 
plause of men, or assumed secular power, but was always 
innocent and humble, though he well knew that these 
virtues made him appear little in the eyes of those who 
had no idea of a spiritual kingdom, but expected that 
the Messiah would appear in all the pomp of secular 
authority. 

In short, the fatal infidelity of the Jewish doctors was 
principally owing to their pride. They had long filled 
the minds of the people with grand ideas of the glory 
and power of the Messiah's kingdom ; they had repre- 
sented him as a potent prince, who was to appear at once 
adorned with all the ensigns of power; and therefore to 
have ascribed that august character to a mere Teacher 
of righteousness, destitute even of the ordinary advan- 
tages of birth, fortune, and erudition, would have been 
so plain a confession of their ignorance of the Scriptures 



154 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

as must have exposed them to the ridicule and contempt 
of the whole people.* 

Our blessed Saviour added that he himself should not 
only be their accuser to the God of Jacob for their infi- 
delity, but Moses, their great legislator, in whom they 

^ The earliest promises of the Messiah did not speak of him distinctly 
as a King. As " the Seed of the Woman," he was to he the victorious 
Antagonist of the Tempter ; as " the Seed of Abraham/' he was to he the 
Benefactor of the world ; as the " Shiloh," he was to make peace between 
God and man ; as the great " Prophet" like unto Moses, he was to speak the 
words of God with supreme and final authority. But when David filled 
the throne of Israel, the Messiah, as his son, was for the first time ex- 
pressly announced in his kingly character and glory. Thus in Psalm 
ii., " I have set my King upon my holy hill of Sion." Psalm xlv. is a 
magnificent description of Messiah as the King and Bridegroom of the 
Church. In Psalm Ixxii. the blessings of his reign are described as uni- 
versal, and as including the sum of human desire and expectation. In 
Psalm ex., he appears as David's " Lord" at the right hand of the Father ; 
exercising his threefold office of King, Prophet, and Priest, by an irrevo. 
cable decree, in the midst of enemies who are to become his footstool. In 
Isaiah ix., he is adored as the Son of G od, clothed in the most glorious 
titles, and establishing his throne in righteousness and peace, and ever- 
increasing joy. In Daniel vii., he is seen as the " Son of man" approach- 
ing the Ancient of days, and receiving a kingdom which shall hold 
dominion over all nations, languages, and tongues. 

On these and the like prophecies of the Messiah's glory, the Jewish 
people fastened their eyes with 'a gaze so intense and exclusive, that they 
quite overlooked the other class of prophecies, which foretold his previous 
rejection, sufferings, and death; as Psalm viii., xvi., xxii., Ixix., and above 
all Isaiah liii., and Daniel ix. 26. Even the more spiritual among them, 
while looking for spiritual blessings from the Messiah, failed to perceive 
that " Christ must first suffer these things, and then enter into his 
glory;" while the worldl^^ men of the nation desired nothing but "the 
glory of his kingdom," as interpreted by worldly minds. To them the 
great mystery of the Incarnation was nothing ; the infallible Prophet, the 
Pattern of holiness, the spotless Lamb of God, the all-atoning, interceding 
Priest, was nothing ; because they knew not their spiritual needs ; because 
" the vail was upon their hearts." The " brightness of the Father's glory" 
was to them " ^'ithout form or comeliness " 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



155 



trusted, would join in that unwelcome office ; for bj 
denying him to be the Messiah they denied the writings 
of that prophet. For had ye," added he, believed 
Moses, ye would have believed me ; for he wrote of me. 
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe 
my words ?" John v. 46, 47. 

Thus did the blessed Jesus assert himself to be the 
Son of God, the great Judge of the whole earth, and the 
Messiah promised by the prophets, and at the same time 
gave them such convincing proofs of his being sent from 
God that nothing could be said against them. 

Convincing as these proofs were, yet they did not in 
the least abate the malice of the Scribes and Pharisees ; 
for the very next Sabbath, upon his disciples plucking 
a few ears of corn as they passed through the fields, and 
eating the grain after rubbing it out in their hands, they 
again exclaimed against this violation of the Sabbath. 
But our blessed Saviour soon convinced them of their 
error, by showing, both from the example of David and 
the constant practice of their own priests, who never 
omitted the necessary works of the temple on the Sab- 
bath day, that works of necessity were often permitted, 
even though they broke a ritual command ; that acts of 
mercy were the most acceptable services to God of any 
whatever ; that it was inverting the order of things to 
suppose that man was made for the Sabbath, and not 
the Sabbath for the benefit of man adding that, if the 
service of the temple should be said to claim a particular 
dispensation from the law of the Sabbath, he and his 
disciples, whose business of promoting the salvation of 
mankind was of equal importance, might justly claim 
the same exemption, as the}- were carrying on a much 



156 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



nobler work than they who attended on the service of 
the temple. Thus did our blessed Saviour prove that 
works of mercy should not be left undone, though 
attended with the violation of some of the most sacred 
institutions of the ceremonial law. * 

* It has long been disputed among divines whether the law of the Sab- 
bath be a ceremonial or a moral law. Perhaps the true solution of the 
difficulty lies in the fact that it was both. 

As instituted, like Marriage, at the beginning of creation, as a weekly 
season of rest and devotion, and divine blessing for man (Gen. ii. 1-3) ; as 
founded in the relations of men to God and to each other, as religious and 
social beings (Mark ii. 27) ; as incorporated in the Decalogue with the 
other moral commandments (Exodus xx. 11), it certainly seems to par- 
take of a moral character, and hence is of universal and perpetual obliga- 
tion. On the other hand, as incorporated with the civil and ceremonial 
code prescribed for the Jewish people, it partook of a civil and ceremonial 
character, both as to the day to be observed and the modes of its observ 
ance. Thus the picking up of sticks, lighting a fire, gathering food, bear- 
ing burdens, and the like (when not matters of real necessity), w^ere cere- 
monial peculiarities of the Jewish code, like many other regulations 
attached to the original law of Marriage. 

To these strictly Jewish regulations, were added many superstitious 
cvistoms and false constructions of the Scribes and Pharisees in the time 
of Christ ; under which they sought to accuse him and his disciples of 
breaking the Sabbath. It was to these chiefly our Lord referred when, 
as Lord of the Sabbath, he expounded its true moral force and authority. 

All merely J ewish peculiarities, whether of law or construction, were, 
of course, hmited tP' that people, and perished with their national consti- 
tution. On believers in Christ of other nations, they were never in force ; 
and our Saviour's general rule governs all cases : "It is lawful to do good 
on the Sabbath day." 

Every Christian, who receives Christ as the Lord of the Sabbath, will 
own his entire authority to expound the moral law of the Sabbath ; to 
determine the day, the grounds, afid the modes of its observance, indepen- 
dent of all connectiois with Jewish law, civil or ceremonial. Under him 
it reverts to its purely moral character, as fixed at the Creation, and en- 
joined in the Decalogue (Matt. v. 19) ; the day of the week only being- 
changed, to conform to the new grounds of Christian worship, in honor 
of the glorious Resiirrection of our Lord. If the seventh day of creation 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



157 



Soon after this dispute with the Scribes and Pharisees, 
our blessed Saviour entered one of the synagogues of 
Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, and found there a man 
whose right hand was withered. 

The Pharisees, who observed the compassionate Jesus 
advance toward the man, did not doubt but he would 
heal him, and therefore watched him attentively, that 
[hej might have something to accuse him with the 
people. Their malice had arrived at that monstrous 
pitch that they determined to injure his reputation, by 
representing him as a Sabbath-breaker, if he dared to 
heal the man, while they themselves were profaning it 
by an action which would have polluted any day; 
namely, of seeking an opportunity of destroying a person 
who had never injured them, but done many good 
actions for the sons of Jacob, and was continually labor- 
ing for their eternal welfare. 

The Saviour of the world was not unapprized of these 
malicious intentions. He knew their designs, and de- 
fied their impotent power by informing them of the 
benevolent action he designed — though he well knew 
they would exert every art they were masters of in order 
to put him to death. 

Therefore, when our Saviour ordered the man to show 
nimself to the whole congregation, in order to excite 
their pity, these hypocritical teachers declared, in the 
strongest terms, the unlawfulness of his performing even 

was holy, and blessed for man, as man, though it fell on the first day after 
man waf made ; if the seventh day of Israel's observance (as determined 
for that nation by the special miracle of the manna) was to the devout 
Jew of every age a glory and delight ; how much more will " the first day 
of the week," on which our Life arose, be dear and sacred to every Chris- 
tian heart. Matt, xxviii. 1-8 ; Acts xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2 ; Rev. i. 10. 



158 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



such beneficent actions on the Sabbath : Is it lawful to 
heal on the Sabbath day ?"* Ihey did not, however, 
ask this question with an intention to hinder him from 
performing the miracle. No : they had a very different 
intention than that of accusing him. For they hoped 
he would have declared openly that such actions w^ere 
lawful, or, at least, make no reply to their demands, 
which they would have construed into an acknow edg- 
ment of what they asserted. 

Nor did our Lord fail to expose their malice and 
superstition; and accordingly asked them, ^^Is it lawful 
on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil ? to save 
life, or to destroy it ?" Luke vi. 9. Is it not more lawful 
for me on the Sabbath day to save men's lives than for 
you to seek my death without the least provocation ? 
This severe rebuke would admit of no answer; and 
therefore they held their peace, pretending not to under- 
stand his meaning. He therefore made use of an argu- 
ment which stupidity itself could not fail of understand- 
ing, and which all the art of these hypocritical sophists 
was unable to answer. What man," said the blessed 
Jesus, shall there be among you that shall have one 
sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day will 
he not lay hold on it and lift it out ? How much then 
is a man better than a sheep ? Wherefore it is lawful 
to do well on the Sabbath day." Matt. xii. 11, 12. 

The former question they pretended not to under- 
stand, and therefore held their peace ; but this argument 
effectually exposed them, though they were determined 
not to be convinced. This unconquerable obstinacy 



* See the foregoing note. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



159 



grieved the spirit of the meek, the benevolent J esus, who 
beheld them with anger,* that, if possible, an impression 
might be made either on them or the spectators. 

But, at the same time that he testified his displeasure 
toward the Pharisees, he uttered words of comfort to the 
lame man, bidding him stretch forth his hand ; and he no 
sooner obeyed the divine command than it was restored 
whole as the other. 

This astonishing work, performed in the midst of a 
congregation many of whom doubtless knew the man 
while he labored under this infirmity, and in the pres- 
ence of his most inveterate enemies, must certainly have 
had a great effect on the minds of the people, especially 
as they saw it had effectually silenced the Pharisees, 
who had nothing to offer, either against the mira(»le 
itself or the reasoning and power of him who had per- 
formed it. 

But though these whited sepulchres, as our blessed 
Saviour justly termed them, were silenced by his argu- 
ments and astonished at his miracles, yet they were so 
far from abandoning their malicious intentions that they 
joined their inveterate enemies the Herodians and the 
Sadducees, in order to consult how they might destroy 
him — well knowing that if he continued his preaching 

* Anger, in its pure state, is nothing more than that quick displeasure 
which springs up in a just mind at the sight of wrong doing. Hence, it 
may exist without sin, as in the heart of the holy Jesus. Hence, also, 
the injunction to Christians, "Be ye angry, and sin not." Eph. iv. 26. 
Yet so seldom is it found in a just and pure state in imperfect man, thai 
it is often classed among the sinful passions which Christians must put 
away, lest they grieve the Holy Spirit. Eph. iv. 31. Hence, too, our 
Saviour's solemn warnings against the indulgence of anger without ade- 
quate cause. Matt. v. 22. 



160 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and working of miracles the people would wholly follow 
him, and their own power soon become contemptible. 
Jesus, however, thought proper to prevent their mali- 
cious designs by retiring into Galilee and there pursuing 
his benevolent purposes. 

This retreat could not, however, conceal him from the 
multitude, who flocked to him from all quarters, bring- 
ing with them the sick and maimed, who were healed 
and sent away in peace. 

Soon after this, as J esus was disputing with the Phar- 
isees, he was informed that his mother and brethren, or 
kinsmen, were without, desiring to speak to him ; upon 
which the blessed Jesus stretched out his hands toward 
his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my 
brethren ! For whosoever shall do the will of my 
Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and 
sister, and mother." Matt. xii. 49, 50. This glorious 
truth should be stamped on the minds of all believers, 
as it shows that every one, of what nation or kindred 
soever, who is brought into subjection to the will of God, 
is allied to the blessed Jesus and entitled to the salvation 
of God. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



161 



CHAPTER XIIl. 

OUR LORD DELIVERS MANY REMARKABLE PARABLES^ AND 
EXPLAINS SEVERAL OF THEM — HE RETURNS TO NAZA- 
RETH, AND COMMISSIONS THE TWELVE APOSTLES, WHOM 
HE HAD BEFORE SELECTED AS HIS CONSTANT ATTEND- 
ANTS AND FOLLOWERS, TO DISPERSE AND PREACH THE 
GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN DIVERS PLACES — 
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

The miraculous power of our blessed Lord, both in 
performing the most astonishing acts and confuting the 
most learned of the Pharisaical tribe, who endeavored 
to oppose his mission and doctrine, brought together so 
great a multitude that he repaired to the sea-side, and, 
for the better instruction of the people, entered into a 
ship, and the whole multitude stood on shore. Being 
thus conveniently seated, he delivered many precepts 
of the utmost importance, beginning with the parable 
of the Sower who cast his seed on different kinds of soil, 
the products of which were answerable to the nature of 
the ground — some yielding a large increase, others 
nothing at all. By this striking similitude the blessed 
Jesus represented the different kinds of hearers, and the 
different manner in which they were affected by the 
truths of religion. Some wholly suppressed the doctrines 
delivered; in others they produced the fruit of right- 
eousnesss in a different proportion And surely a more 

* As there are three varieties of untViiitful I'learcrs, so there are three 
varieties of fruitful hearers specified by our Lord. All the former, 
11 



162 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



proper parable could not have been delivered, when such 
multitudes came to hear his discourses, and so few prac- 
tised the precepts or profited by the heavenly doctrines 
they contained. 

The parable being finished, his disciples asked why 
he taught the people in parables ; to which he answered, 

Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of 
the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall 
have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from 
him shall be taken away even that he hath.* Therefore 
speak I to them in parables : because they seeing see 
not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they under- 
stand." Matt. xiii. 11, etc. As if he had said. You, 
my beloved disciples, who are of an humble, docile tem- 
per, and are willing to use means and resort to me for 
instruction and the explanation of the truths I deliver, 
to you it shall be no disadvantage that they are deliv- 
ered in parables. Besides, my discourses are plain and 



whether skeptical, superficial, or secular in mind, lack the one thing — an 
honest and good heart ; and, hence, do not understand the word of Christ 
either in its moral glory or its practical personal application. In a word, 
they lack that faith which overcomes the world, and therefore the world 
overcomes them. Whereas all the latter class of fruitful hearers, are 
fruitful just in proportion as they understand the word, and receive it into 
honest and good hearts ; that is, just in proportion to the power of their 
faith. " Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father 
which is in Heaven." Matt. xvi. 17. 

* That is to say, from those who lack an honest and good heart, where 
faith can take root, shall the means of information and the influences of 
the Holy Spirit, and the opportunities of salvation be taken away. John 
xii. 34, 35. All hearers of the word have these means for the time, but 
not forever. Their removal is a terrible calamity. Prov. i. 24-33 
John iii. 19. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



163 



intelligible to all unprejudiced minds : truth will shine 
through the vail in which it is arrayed^ and the shadow 
will guide you to the substance. But these proud, these 
self-conceited Pharisees, who are so bhnded by their own 
prejudices that they will neither hear nor understand a 
thing plainly delivered, to them I preach in parables, 
and hide the great truths of the gospel under such met- 
aphorical robes as will ever conceal them from persons 
of their own temper. They have, therefore, brought 
upon themselves this blindness, that in seeing they see 
not, and this wilful deafness, that in hearing they hear 
not, neither do they understand. 

The blessed Jesus added that there was no reason for 
their being surprised at what he had told them, as it had 
long before been predicted by the prophet Isaiah, By 
hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and 
seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. For this 
people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of 
hearing, and their eyes have they closed ; lest at any 
time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their 
ears, and should understand with their heart, and should 
be converted, and I should heal them." Matt. xiii. 14, 
15. There is some variation in the words as quoted by 
the evangelist and those found in Isaiah; but the import, 
of both is the same, and may be paraphrased in the fol- 
lowing manner : The sons of Jacob shall indeed hear the 
doctrines of the gospel, but not understand them, and 
see the miracles by which these doctrines are confirmed, 
without perceiving them to be wrought by the finger of 
God ; not because the evidences produced by the Mes- 
siah are insufficient, but because the corruption of their 
hearts will not sufier them to <^xamine and weigh these 



164 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



evidences; for the sins of this people have haidened 
their hearts ; their pride and vanity have shut their ears; 
and their hypocrisy and bigoted adherence to tradition 
and forced interpretations of the law and the prophets 
have closed their eyes, lest the brilliant rays of truth 
should strike their sight with irresistible force, and the 
powerful voice of Divine Wisdom rouse their attention 
and command their assent — they being unwilling to be 
directed to the paths of righteousness, which lead to 
the heavenly Canaan. 

Such are the reasons given by our blessed Saviour for 
his teaching the people by parables ; and, to enhance 
the great privilege his disciples enjoyed, he added that 
many patriarchs and prophets of old, had earnestly de- 
sired to see and hear these things which they now saw 
and heard, but were denied that favor — God having, till 
then, showed them to his most eminent saints in shadows 
only, and as they lay brooding in the womb of futurity. 

Our Lord, having by these means excited the desire 
of his disciples, proceeded to explain to them the parable 
of the Sower. Having ended the interpretation of this 
awakening parable, he continued his discourse to his 
disciples, explaining to them, by the similitude of a 
lighted lamp, the use they were to make of all the ex- 
cellent instructions they had and should receive from 
him. 

Having explained these parables to his disciples, he 
turned himself to the multitude on shore, and, in his 
usual endearing manner, delivered the parable of the 
enemy sowing tares among the wheat. 

He spoke another parable concerning the seed that 
sprang up secretly, representing the gradual and silent 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



165 



progress of the Gospel. He informed them, under this 
similitude, that the husbandman does not, by any effi- 
cacy of his own, cause the seed he casts into the ground 
to grow; but leaves it to be nourished by the teeming 
virtues of the soil, and by the enlivening rays of the 
sun; so in the same manner Jesus and his apostles, 
having taught men the doctrine of true religion, were 
not by any miraculous force to constrain the will, far 
less by the terrors of fire and sword, to interpose visibly 
in the assistance of it ; but suffer it to spread by the 
secret influences of the Holy Spirit, till it attains its 
full effect. The ministers of religion must not, how- 
ever, from hence, imagine that religion will grow with- 
out their carefully and importunately, night and day," 
pressing its precepts upon the minds of their hearers. 
Mark iv. 26. 

The next parable he spake to the multitude was that 
of the mustard-seed, which, though very small when 
sown, becomes, in Palestine and other parts of the East, 
a full-spreading tree — intimating to his audience, under 
this similitude, that, notwithstanding the gospel would 
at first appear contemptible, from the ignominy flowing 
from the crucifixion of its Author, the strictness of its 
precepts, the weakness of the persons by whom it was 
preached, and the small number and mean condition of 
those who received it, yet, being founded on truth itself, 
it would increase to an astonishing magnitude, filling the 
whole earth, and affording a spiritual nourishment to all 
persons of all nations, who should enjoy all the privi- 
leges of the Messiah's kingdom equally with the Jews. 

Our blessed Saviour concluded his discourse to the 
multitude with the parable of the leaven, to intimate 



J66 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the influence of the doctrine of the gospel on the minds 
of particular persons. " The kingdom of heaven is like 
unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three 
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Matt, 
xiii. 33. 

While Jesus was thus employed in his heavenly Father's 
business, his mother and brethren came a second time, 
desiring to see him. In all probability, they feared that 
the continued fatigue of preaching would injure his 
health, and were, therefore, desirous of taking him with 
them, that he might refresh himself. But the blessed 
Jesus, who was never weary of doing good, answered his 
indulgent parent as before : My mother and my breth- 
ren, are these which hear the word of God, and do it ?" 
Luke. viii. 21. 

Night approaching, Jesus dismissed the multitude, and 
returned to the house in Capernaum where he abode, 
and there explained to his disciples the parable of the 
tares in the field. The husbandman, said our blessed 
Saviour, is the Son of man ; the field, the Christian 
church, planted in different parts of the world; the 
wheat are those that believe in Christ, who obey the 
precepts of the gospel, and are supported by the influen- 
ces of the Holy Spirit ; and the tares, the bad professors, 
seduced into the paths of vice by the temptations of the 
devil. Our blessed Lord, therefore, by this parable, 
represented the mixed nature of the church on earth, 
the dismal end of the hypocrites, and those who forget 
God : for these may deceive for a time, by assuming the 
robes of virtue and religion, yet they will not fail, sooner 
or later, to betray themselves, and show that they are 
onJy wolves in sheep's clothing. At the same time, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



167 



however sincerely we may wish to see the church freed 
from her corrupted members, we must not extirpate them 
by force,* lest, being deceived by outward appearances, 
we also destroy the wheat, or sound members. We must 
leave this distinction to that awful day, when the great 
Messiah will descend to judgment ; for then, a final sepa- 
ration will be made—the wicked cast into torments that 
will never have an end ; but the righteous received into 
life eternal, where they " shall shine forth as the sun in 
the kingdom of their Father." Matt. xiii. 43. 

Our Lord, on this occasion, delivered the parables of 
the treasure hid in the field, and of the pearl of great 
price. The former was designed to teach us that some 
meet with the gospel as it were by accident, and without 
seeking after it, agreeably to the prediction of the 
prophet, that God is found of them that seek him 
not." But, with regard to the latter, it was designed to 
intimate that men sometimes take the utmost pains to 
become acquainted with the great truths of the gospel. 
And surely the similitudes, both of the treasure and 
pearl, are very naturally used to signify the gospel — the 
former, as it enriches all who possess it, and the latter, 
because it is more precious than rubies. 

But, that the disciples might expect that the Christian 
church would, in time, consist of a mixed multitude of 



* Force is not discipline-, but persecution. How does this parable con- 
demn the whole system and practice of persecution, or as it has been 
called by bloody men, "the extirpation of heretics." Christian discipline, 
as taught in the New Testament by Christ and his Apostles, is a very 
different thing, and is to be faithfully executed on all offenders, accord- 
ing to the law and the evidence, by every church of Christ. Matt. v. 
23, 24 ; xviii. 15-35. Rom.xvi. 17, 18. 1 Cor. v. 1-13, 2 Cor. ii. 0-9. 2 
Thess. iii. G-15. Titus iii. 10, 11. 



168 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



people^ the good blended with the bad, in such a manner 
that it would be difficult to separate them, he compared 
it to a net cast into the sea, which gathered fish of every 
kind, good and bad; which were separated when the 
net was drawn to land— that is, at the last great day of 
accounts, when the righteous will be conveyed to life 
eternal, and the wicked cast into everlasting misery.* 

Our blessed Saviour, having finished these parables, 
asked his disciples if they understood them ; and, upon 
their answering in the affirmative, he added, that every 
teacher of the gospel ought to resemble a person whose 
house was completely furnished, and who brought forth 
out of his treasure things new and old." 

Soon after, Jesus left Capernaum and repaired to 
Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and preached 
in the synagogue the glad tidings of the kingdom of 
God; but his townsmen, though astonished at his doc- 
trine, could not overcome the prejudices they had con- 
ceived against him on account of the obscurity of his 
family, and thence refused to own him for the Messiah. 
Our Saviour, finding them the same incorrigible persons 
as when he visited them before, departed from them, and 
taught in the neighboring villages. They, in common 
with all the Jews, were strangers to the true character 
of the Messiah, whom they considered as a temporal 
prince, and therefore could not bear that a person so 
mean as Jesus appeared to be should perform works 

* This parable is not to be so strained in its interpretation, as to sanc- 
tion the indiscriminate reception of all into the Christian church irrespec- 
tive of the evidence of repentance and faith ; for this would contradict the 
doctrine and practice of Christ himself (John iv, 1, 2) and of his Apostles. 
Acts ii. 37-42, 47. It can only mean, therefore, that the perfect discrimi- 
nation impossible now, shall be made in the final judgment hereafter. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



169 



peculiar to that idol of their vanity, a glorious, trium- 
phant, secular Messiah. 

While our Lord remained in the neighborhood of 
Nazareth, he sent out his disciples to preach in different 
parts of Galilee, and to proclaim the glad tidings that 
God was then going to establish the kingdom of the 
Messiah, wherein he would be worshipped in spirit and 
in truth. And, in order that they might confirm the 
doctrines they delivered, and prove that they had re- 
ceived their commission from the Son of God, they were 
endowed with the power of working miracles.* How 
long they continued their preaching cannot be known ; 
but it is reasonable to think they spent a considerable 
time in it, preaching in several parts of Judea. 

The miracles which the apostles wrought raised the 
expectations of men higher than ever: the people were 
astonished to see the disciples of J esus perform so many 
miracles, and thence concluded that our Saviour must 
be greater than any of the old prophets, who could not 
transmit the power they enjoyed to others. This extra- 
ordinary circumstance could not fail of spreading his 
fame through all the country : it even reached the ears 
of Herod the Tetrarch, who, fearing a person of such 
extraordinary abilities, was very uneasy ; which some 
of his courtiers, observing, endeavored to remove, tell- 
ing him that one of the old prophets was risen from the 
dead; but this did not satisfy him, and he declared that 
he believed it was John the Baptist risen from the 

* The Mission of the Twelve Apostles is to be distinguished from their 
appointment, which was more than a year before this. All the intervening 
time they were in a course of theological training. TJieir Mission is dated 
by Robinson in February A. D. 32. 



170 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



dead : ^'And he said unto his servants, This is John 
the Baptist : he is risen from the dead, and therefore 
mighty works do show forth themselves in him." Matt, 
xiv. 2. 

The evangelists, having on this account mentioned 
John the Baptist, inform us that Herod had put him to 
death; but when this happened is uncertain.* 

It has already been observed that Herod had cast 
John into prison for his boldness in reproving him for 
the unlawful affinity in which he lived with his brother's 
wife. The sacred writers have not told us how long he 
continued in prison ; but it is plain, from his two disci- 
ples, who came from him to our Saviour, that his fol- 
lowers did not all forsake him in his melancholy condi- 
tion. Nay, Herod himself both respected and feared 
him, knowing that he was highly and deservedly 
beloved by the people : he consulted him often, and in 
many things followed his advice. But Herodias, his 
brother's wife (with whom he lived in so shameful a 
manner), being continually uneasy, lest Herod should 
be prevailed upon to set him at liberty, sought all oppor- 
tunities to destroy him ; and at last an incident hap- 
pened which enabled her to accomplish her intentions. 

The king having on his birthday made a great feast 
for his friends, she sent her daughter Salome, whom 
she had by Philip, her lawful husband, into the saloon, 

We know not, it is true, the date of Herod's birthday, on which he 
gave the fatal order for the death of John, but that it fell not far from the 
beginning of the 3^ear (A. D. 32) seems evident from several concurring 
circumstances. The return of the Twelve from their first mission tour is 
fixed by Dr. Robinson, in April of that year, and it appears at that time 
to have been a recent occurrence, of which every one was talking, and 
from the shock of which Herod's guilty conscience had not yet recovered 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



171 



to dance before the king and his guests. Her per- 
formance was remarkably elegant, and so charmed Herod 
that he promised, with an oath, to give her whatsover 
she asked. 

Having obtained so extraordinary a promise, she 
ran to her mother, desiring to know what she should 
ask, and was instructed by that wicked woman to re- 
quire the head of John the Baptist. Her mother's 
desire doubtless surprised Salome, as she could not pos- 
sibly see the use of asking what could be of no service 
to her. But Herodias would take no denial, peremp- 
torily insisting on her demanding the head of the Bap- 
tist. Accordingly, she returned to Herod, saying, " I 
will that thou give me by-and-by, in a charger, the head 
of John the Baptist." 

So cruel a request thrilled every breast : the gayety 
of the king vanished ; he was vexed and confounded. 
But, being unwilling to appear either rash, fickle, or 
false, before a company of the first persons of his king- 
dom for rank and character, he commanded the head 
to be given her — not one of the guests having the 
courage to speak a single word in behalf of an innocent 
man, or attempt to divert Herod from his mad purpose, 
though he gave them an opportunity of doing it, by sig- 
nifying to them that he performed his oath merely out 
of regard to the company. Thus Herod, through a mis- 
placed regard to his oath and his guests, committed a 
most unjust and cruel action — an action that will for- 
ever brand his memory with dishonor and render his 
very name detestable to the latest posterity. 

Soon after the command was given, the head of that 
venerable prophet, whose rebukes had struck Herod 



172 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 



with awe in the loosest moments, and whose exhorta- 
tions had often excited him to virtuous actions, was 
brought, pale and bloody, in a charger, and given to 
the daughter of Herodias in the presence of all the guests. 

The young lady eagerly received the bloody present, 
and carried it to her mother, who enjoyed the whole 
pleasure of revenge, and feasted her eyes with the sight 
of her enemy's head, now silent and harmless. But she 
could not silence the name of the Baptist ; it became 
louder, filling the earth and heavens, and publishing to 
every people and nation this woman's baseness and 
adultery. 

Thus fell that great and good man, John the Baptist, 
who was proclaimed by our blessed Saviour himself to 
be " more than a prophet." Josephus tells us that his 
whole crime consisted in exhorting the Jews to the love 
and practice of virtue, and in the first place to piety, 
justice, and regeneration or newness of life — not by the 
bare abstinence from this or that particular sin, but by 
an habitual purity of mind and body. 

It may not be improper on this occasion to hint that 
the history of this birthday, transmitted to posterity in 
the Scriptures, stands a perpetual beacon, to warn the 
great, the gay, and the young to beware of dissolute 
mirth. Admonished by so fatal an example, they should 
be careful to maintain, in the midst of their jollity, an 
habitual recollection of spirit, lest reason at any time, 
enervated by the pleasures of sense, should slacken the 
rein of wisdom or let it drop, though only for a moment ; 
because their headstrong passions, ever impatient of 
control, may catch the opportunity, and rush with them 



173 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



into follies or crimes whose consequences will be un- 
speakably — perhaps eternally — bitter. 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

OUR LORD ADDS TO THE CONFIRMATION OF HIS MISSION AND 
DOCTRINE BY WORKING A MIRACLE IN THE WILDERNESS 

OF BETHSAIDA THE PEOPLE, STRUCK WITH THE POWER 

AND GRACE OF THE BLESSED JESUS, PROPOSE TO RAISE 

HIM TO THE EARTHLY DIGNITY OF KING PETER, BY MEANS 

OF HIS BLESSED MASTER, PERFORMS A MIRACLE IN WALKING 
UPON THE SEA. 

The disciples were so alarmed at the cruel fate of the 
Baptist, whose memory they highly revered, that they 
returned from their mission and assisted in performing 
the last offices to the body of their old master — many 
of the apostles having been originally the disciples of 
John. As soon as the pious rites were over, they 
repaired to Jesus, and told him all that had hap- 
pened.* 

* It is evident that our author understands the words, " his disciples," 
n Matt. xiv. 17, of the disciples of Jesus, i. e., the apostles. It is true, 
they had all formerly been the disciples of John (see Acts i. 21, 22) ; but 
the context here, evidently refers to those disciples of John who had re- 
mained, up to the time of his death, attached more or less closely to his 
person. During his imprisonment, they would not forsake him ; but after 
bestowing upon his corpse a solemn burial, they did him still higher honor 
as a true Prophet and the special witness to the Messiah, by going to 



174 



LIFE OP CHRIST. 



Their compassionate Master, on hearing this melan- 
choly news, retired with them by the sea into a desert 
place belonging to Bethsaida,* that by retirement, medi- 
tation, and prayer they might be refreshed and recruited 
for their spiritual labors, and at the same time leave an 
example to us, that we should often retire from the noise 
and hurry of the world and offer up the most fervent 
prayers to our heavenly Father. 

But the multitude attended so closely that the depar- 
ture was not long concealed; and great numbers of 
people repaired to the place where they supposed Jesus 
and his disciples had secluded themselves. Struck with 
the greatness of his miracles on those that were sick, 
and anxious to hear more instruction from the mouth of 
so divine a teacher, no difficulties were too great for 
them to surmount, nor any place too retired for them to 
penetrate, in search of their admired Preacher. 

Nor was the beneficent Saviour of the world regard- 
less of their pious esteem. He saw them, and was 
moved with compassion" toward them, because they 
were as sheep not having a shepherd, multitudes of peo- 
ple without a pastor^ a large harvest without laborers — 



Jesus, and enrolling themselves as his followers. In this way the great 
end of John's ministry was accomplished. John iii. 25-30. 

* There were two cities of this name, one on the northwest, and the 
other on the northeast side of the sea of Galilee. The former was the 
birth-place and abode of Philip, Andrew, and Peter, and was about a mile 
south of Capernaum ; the latter was east of the Jordan before it enters 
the sea, and about three miles back from the shore, from which it is 
separated by a plain of great fertility. The desert here referred to, lay 
some distance south of it. 

This Bethsaida was in Gaulonitis, out of the dominion of Herod Anti 
pas, and was under th ^ government of his brother Philip. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



175 



motives abundantly sufficient to excite compassion in the 
Son of God. 

The situation of these numerous throngs of people, 
scattered abroad, without a guide, without a guardian, 
a flock of defenceless sheep, without a single shepherd 
to defend them from the jaws of the infernal wolf, was 
truly deplorable : therefore, the blessed Jesus, that 

Good Shepherd who came to lay down his life for the 
sheep," was moved with pity toward them : the same 
pity which brought him from the courts of heaven, for 
the sake of his lost and wandering sheep in the desert, 
now brought him to this multitude of people, whom he 
instructed in the doctrines of eternal life, and, with his 
usual goodness, healed all the sick among them. 

Intently devoted to teaching and healing of the people, 
our blessed Saviour did not perceive the day to wear 
away, and that the greatest part of it was already spent ; 
but his disciples, too anxious about the things of this 
world, thought proper to advise him of it — as if the Son 
of God wanted any directions from man. The day, said 
his disciples, is now far advanced, and the place a soli- 
tary desert, where neither food nor lodging can be pro- 
cured : it would therefore be convenient to dismiss the 
people, that they may repair to the towns or villages on 
the borders of the wilderness and provide themselves 
with food and lodging ; for they have nothing to eat. 

But our Lord prevented that trouble, by telling them 
there was no necessity for sending the people away to 
procure victuals for themselves, as they might satisfy 
the hunger of the multitude by giving them to eat, and 
at the same time, to prove what opinion his disciples 
entertained o^ his power, addressed himself to Philip, 



176 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



who was weil acquainted with the country, and saii, 
Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?" 
Philip, astonished at the seeming impossibility of 
procuring a supply for so great a multitude with the 
small sum of money which he knew was their all, and 
forgetting the extent of his Master's power, answered. 
Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for 
them, that every one of them may take a little." John 
vi. 7. 

Our blessed Saviour might now have put the same 
question to Philip that he did on another occasion : 

Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou 
not known me, Philip ?" John xiv. 9. Hast thou be- 
held so many miracles, and art still ignorant that I can 
supply food, not only for tiiis people, but for all the sons 
of men, and for the cattle upon a thousand hills?" 

But he contented himself with answering, Give ye 
them to eat." The twelve, not yet comprehending the 
design of their Master, repeated the objection of Philip, 
but added that they were willing to expend their whole 
stock, in order to procure as large a supply as possible. 

Shall we go," said they, " and buy two hundred 
pennyworth of bread, that they may eat ?" 

But this was by no means the design of their Great 
Master, who, instead of making a direct answer to their 
question, asked them, "How many loaves have ye?" 
How much provision can be found among this multi- 
tude ? Go and see. 

The disciples obeyed the command of their Master ; 
and Andrew soon returned, to inform him that the 
whole stock amounted to no more than five barley loaves 
and two small fishes — a quantity so inconsiderable that 



TOOE MDM^EUILOUS O [R] #\ 0 B 1>3 T OIF tFQitKlESa 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



177 



it scarcely deserved notice. " What are they," said the 
disciples^ " among so many?" What, indeed, would 
they have been among such a multitude of people, if 
they had not been distributed by the creating hand of 
the Son of God ? 

Jesus, notwithstanding the smallness of the number, 
ordered them to be brought to him, and immediately 
commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, with 
which the place abounded, directing his disciples at the 
same time to range them in regular order, by hundreds 
and fifties in a company, each company forming a square 
containing a hundred in rank and fifty in file, that the 
number might be more easily ascertained and the people 
more regularly served. 

The multitude being seated, J esus took the loaves and 
fishes into his hands, in sight of all the people, that 
they might be convinced of the small quantity of pro- 
visions that were then before them, and that they could 
only expect to be fed by his supernatural power. But 
that hand, which had constantly sustained nature, could 
now easily multiply these five loaves and two fishes; for, 
as the Psalmist elegantly observes, He openeth his 
hand, and filleth all things living with plenteousness." 
Accordingly, he looked up to heaven, returned thanks 
to God, the liberal giver of all good things, for his infi- 
nite beneficence in furnishing food for all flesh, and for 
the power he had conferred on him of relieving mankind 
by his miracles, particularly for that he was about to 
work. This done, he blessed them ; and so peculiarly 
efficacious was his blessing that these five barley loaves 
and two fishes were multiplied into a quantity sufficient 
to supply the wants of five thousand men, besides wo- 

12 



178 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



men and children, who, on the most favorable supposi- 
tion, must amount to an equal number. And Jesus 
took the loaves ; and, when he had given thanks, he 
distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them 
that were set down ; and likewise of the fishes, as much 
as they would." John vi. 11. 

Thus did the compassionate and powerful Eedeemer 
feed at least ten thousand people with five barley loaves 
and two small fishes, giving a magnificent proof both of 
his power and goodness. For, after all had eaten to sat- 
isfy, they took up twelve baskets full of the broken 
pieces — a much larger quantity than was at first set be- 
fore our Lord to divide. 

The people, when they had seen the Saviour of the 
world perform so stupendous a miracle, Avere astonished 
above measure, and, in the height of their transport, 
purposed to take Jesus by force and make him a king, 
concluding that he must then assume the title of the 
Messiah, whose coming they had so long earnestly ex- 
pected, and under whose reign they hoped to enjoy all 
kinds of temporal felicity. 

But our Lord, well knowing the intentions of the mul- 
titude, and the inclinations of his disciples to second 
them, ordered the latter to repair immediately to their 
boat and sail to Bethsaida, while he sent away the mul- 
titude. They would, it seems, gladly have detained the 
people, with whom they fully agreed in sentiments, and 
even lingered till he constrained them to get into the 
boat, so fully were they still possessed of the opinion 
that their Master was to take the reins of government 
and become a powerful prince over the house of Jacob. 

The people suffered the disciples to depart without 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



179 



the least remorse, as they saw that Jesus did not go 
with them. 

Perhaps they imagined he was sending them away to 
provide such things as they had need of. Nor did they 
refuse to disperse when he commanded them, purposing 
to return in the morning, as we find they actually did. 

Having thus sent the disciples and the multitude 
away, Jesus himself repaired to the summit of a moun- 
tain, spending the evening in heavenly contemplation 
and ardent prayers to his Almighty Father. 

But the disciples, meeting with a contrary wind, could 
not continue their course to Bethsaida, which lay about 
two leagues to the northward of the desei.'t mountain 
where the multitude were miraculously fed. They, how- 
ever, did all in their power to land as near that city as 
possible, but were tossed up and down all the night by 
the tempest ; so that in the fourth watch, or between 
three and six o'clock in the morning, they were yet 
above a league from the shore. 

Their divine Master beheld from the mountain their 
distressed situation ; but they were ignorant of his pre- 
sence, though he was coming to their relief Such was 
the state of the disciples : they were tossed by boister- 
ous waves, and opposed in their course by the rapid cur- 
rent of the wind, so that all hopes of reaching the place 
intended were vanished ; when, behold, their heavenly 
Master, to assist them in this distressful situation, comes 
to them, walking on the foaming surface of the sea. 

Their Lord's approach filled them with astonishment : 
they took him for an apparition, and shrieked for 
fear. Their terrors were, however, soon removed : their 
great and affectionate Master talked to them^ with the 



180 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



sound of whose voice they were perfectly acquainted. 
" Be of good cheer," said the blessed Jesus : "It is I : 
be not afraid." 

Peter, a man of warm and forward temper, beholding 
Jesus walking on the sea, was exceedingly amazed, and 
conceived the strongest desire of being enabled to per- 
form so wonderful an action. 

Accordingly, without the least reflection, he imme- 
diately begged that his Master would bid him come to 
him on the water. He did not doubt but that Jesus 
would gratify his request, as it sufiiciently intimated 
that he would readily undertake any thing, however 
difficult, at the command of his Saviour. But it 
appeared that his faith was too weak to support him to 
that height of obedience to which he would have will- 
ingly soared. To convince this forward disciple of the 
weakness of his faith, and render him more diffident of 
his own strength, our blessed Saviour granted his re- 
quest. He ordered him to come to him upon the 
water. 

Peter joyfully obeyed his divine Master : he left the 
boat, and walked on the surface of the sea. But the 
wind, increasing, made a dreadful noise, and the bois- 
terous waves at the same time threatened to overwhelm 
him. His faith now staggered; his presence of mind 
forsook him ; he forgot that his Saviour was at hand ; 
and in proportion as his faith decreased the waters 
yielded, and he sunk. In this extremity he looked 
around for his Master, and on the very brink of being 
swallowed up, cried, "Lord, save me!" His cry was 
not disregarded by his compassionate Saviour: "^he 
stretched forth his hand and caught him, and said unto 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



181 



him, 0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou 
doubt?" 

Peter was convincedj before he left the ship, that it 
was Jesus who was coming to them on the water : nor 
did he even doubt it when he was sinking, because he 
then implored his assistance. But when he found the 
storm increase, and the billows rage more terribly than 
before, his fears suggested that either his Master would 
be unable or unwilling to support him amid the frightful 
blasts of the tempest. 

This miracle alarmed the disciples ; for, though they 
had so lately seen the miracle of the five loaves, they 
did not seem to have formed a proper idea of his power; 
but, being persuaded that he could be no other than 
the expected Messiah, they " came and worshipped him, 
saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God." Matt, 
xiv. 33. 

Our Saviour seems to have confirmed this miracle by 
working another ; for the evangelists tell us that he had 
no sooner entered the ship and hushed the violence of 
the storm, than they arrived at the place whither they 
were going. Then they willingly received him into 
the ship ; and immediately the ship was at the land, 
whither they went." John vi. 21. 

When our Lord disembarked, the inhabitants of the 
neighboring country ran to him, bringing with them all 
those that were sick; and they were all healed. It 
must be remembered that, though Jesus ordinarily re- 
sided in the neighborhood of Capernaum, yet he had been 
absent ever since his visiting Nazareth ; and therefore 
it is natural to think that the inhabitants, on his return, 
would not omit the opportunity of bringing their sick in 



182 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



such prodigious crowds, that it seems our Saviour did 
not pay particalar attention to each of them, and this 
was the reason of their beseeching him " that they might 
only touch the hem of his garment : and as many as 
touched were made perfectly whole." Matt. xiv. 36. 

The virtue of that power by which he wrought these 
miracles, lay not in his garments, for then the soldiers 
who seized them at his crucifixion might have wrought 
the same miracles ; but it was because Jesus willed it 
to be so. It was now the acceptable time, the day of 
salvation, foretold by Isaiah; and Christ's power was 
sufficient to remove any distemper whatsoever. 

No sooner did the cheering rays of light appear than 
the multitude left their retreats and searched for Jesus 
in every part of the mountain, to the summit of which 
they had seen him retire. Finding their search in vain, 
they concluded he must have departed to the other side. 
Accordingly they repaired to Capernaum, where they 
found him in the synagogue teaching the people, and 
could not help asking him, with some surprise, ^'Eabbi, 
how camest thou hither ?" 

Jesus solemnly replied, ^^Yerily, verily, I say unto 
you, ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles, but 
because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor 
not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which 
endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man 
shall give unto you ; for him hath God the Father 
sealed." By the miracle of the loaves my Father has 
testified my mission, and typified the true, the spiritual, 
the heavenly bread, of which the manna was but a sym- 
bol. That was sufficient only for a single nation ; this 
is sufficient for all the children of men. I am the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 183 

bread of life. He that cometli to me shall never hun- 
ger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." 

Because I do not affect the authority and pomp of an 
earthly monarch, you reject me as an impostor. Your 
unbelief does not proceed from want of evidence, as you 
vainly pretend, but from the perverseness of your own 
dispositions, which may in time perhaps be overcome : 
for all that the Father giveth me, shall come to me," 
and, however obstinate for a season, they shall yet be- 
lieve in the Son of God. Nor will I ever reject any 
that come to me, however low their circumstances may 
be, however vile they may appear in their own eyes, or 
however greatly their violence against my doctrine may 
have been excited. I came down from heaven not to 
act according to the common method of human passions, 
which excite men to return evil for evil, but to bear 
with them, to try all possible means to bring them to 
repentance and lead them in the strait paths of virtue 
to the mansions above. It is the will of my Father to 
bestow eternal life on all who believe in me, and there- 
fore I will raise them up at the last day. 

These things and more Jesus spoke in the hearing of 
all the people of the synagogue at Capernaum. He 
even went so far as to say that he would give his flesh 
in sacrifice for the life of the world • and in allusion to 
the customs of the Jews, and their notions of feasting 
upon their sacrifices, added : My flesh is meat indeed, 
and my blood is drink indeed. Except ye eat the flesh 
and drink the blood of the Son of man, ye have no life 
in you." 

The self-suflicient and self-righteous Jews were so 
ofiendod at this doctrine that, though they had professed 



184 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to be his followers^ they went away, and would hear 
him no more. Jesus said to the twelve, "Will ye also go 
away?" Peter answered for all : " Lord, to whom shall 
we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we 
believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son 
of the living God." John vi. 68, 69. 



CHAPTER XY. 

PHARISAICAL SUPERSTITION SEVERELY REPRIMANDED THE 

GREAT REDEEMER CONTINUES TO DISPLAY HIS POWER AND 
BENEVOLENCE IN THE RELIEF OF SEVERAL OBJECTS OF 
AFFLICTION GUARDS HIS DISCIPLES AGAINST THE PRE- 
VAILING ERRORS AND FALLACIES OF THE SCRIBES AND 

PHARISEES PROCEEDS ON THE WORKS OF HIS HEAVENLY 

FATHER. 

The Pharisees were sensibly they could not perpetrate 
their malicious designs upon him on that occasion ; they 
therefore followed him, hoping to find something by 
which they might accuse him, and at length ventured 
to attack him for permitting his disciples to eat with un- 
washed hands, because, in so doing, they transgressed 
the tradition of the elders. 

Moses had, indeed, required external cleanness as a 
part of their religion, but it was only to signify how 
careful the servants of the Almighty should be to purify 
themselves from all uncleanness, both of flesh and 
spirit. These ceremonial institutions were, in process 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



185 



of time, prodigiously multiplied : and the Pharisees, who 
pretended to observe every tittle of the law, considered 
it as a notorious offence to eat bread with unwashed 
hands, though at the same time they suffered the more 
weighty precepts of the law to be neglected and forgotten. 

To expose the absurdity of such superstitious customs, 
our Saviour applied to them the words of the prophet 
Isaiah : This people honoreth me with their lips, but 
their heart is far from me ;" adding, that all their wor- 
ship was vain, and displeasing to the Almighty, while 
they praised themselves, and imposed upon others the 
frivolous precepts of man's invention, and at the same 
time neglected the eternal rules of righteousness ; and, 
to remove all objections that might be brought against 
this imputation of gross profaneness in the Pharisees, he 
supported it by a very remarkable instance. God, said 
the Saviour of the world, hath commanded children to 
honor their parents, and to maintain them when reduced 
to poverty by sickness, age, or misfortunes ; promising 
life to such as obey this precept, and threatening death 
to those who disregard it. But, notwithstanding the 
peremptory commandment of Omnipotence, you teach 
that it is more sacred in children to enrich the temple 
than to nourish their parents, although reduced to the 
utmost necessity ; pretending that what is offered to the 
Great Parent of the universe is much better bestowed 
than what is given to the support of our earthly parents ; 
making the honor of God absolutely different from the 
happiness of his creatures. Nay, ye teach that it is no 
breach of the commandment for a man to suffer his 
parents to perish, provided he has given what ought to 
nourish them to the temple at Jerusalem. Thus have 



186 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ye concealed, under the cloak of piety, the most horrid, 
the most unnatural crime any person can commit. 

Having thus reproved the Pharisees, he called the 
multitude to him, and desired them to reflect on the 
absurdity of the precepts inculcated by the Scribes . 
These hypocrites, said he, solicitous about trifles, neglect 
the great duties of morality, which are of eternal obliga- 
tion. They shudder with horror at unwashed hands, 
but are perfectly easy under the guilt of a polluted con- 
science, though they must be sensible that not that 
which goeth into the mouth defileth the man ; but that 
which Cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." 
Matt. XV. 11. 

The haughty Pharisees were highly offended at his 
speaking in a degrading manner of their traditions. And 
the apostles, who would gladly have reconciled their 
Master and the Pharisees, insinuated to Jesus that he 
ought to have acted in another manner. To which our 
Saviour answered, " Every plant which my heavenly 
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 
XV. 13. As if he had said. You have no cause to fear 
their anger, as both they and their doctrine shall perish 
together, for neither of them came from God : adding, 
" Let them alone : they be blind leaders of the blind. 
And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the 
ditch." Matt. xv. 14. 

His disciples, not fully comprehending this doctrine, 
desired their Master to explain it. This our Saviour 
complied with, and showed them that meats, being of a 
corporeal nature, could not defile the mind of man, nor 
render him polluted in the sight of the Almighty, unless 
they were used to excess or in opposition to the com- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



187 



mandment of God ; and even then the pollution arose 
from the man, and not from the meat. But, on the con- 
trary, that which proceedeth out of the mouth of a man 
comes from his heart and really poUuteth his mind.* 

These doctrines of truth could not fail of irritating 
the Pharisees, as they tended to strip them of the mask 
with which they concealed their deformity and rendered 
themselves so venerable in the eyes of the vulgar ; and 
therefore their plots were levelled against his reputation 
and life. 

Jesus, to avoid their malice, retired to the very bor- 
ders of Palestine, to the coast of those two celebrated 
Gentile cities. Tyre and Sidon,-}- proposing there to con- 

* This doctrine, that all sin proceeds from the heart of man — even 
when it consists in following the evil suggestions of others — is not new. 
It pervades the Old Testament Scriptures, and is inseparable from all just 
views of the spirituality of God and of his law. The ceremonial law, as 
well as the moral, was designed to keep the people in continual remem- 
brance of it in every form, so far as types could do it, until Christ 
came ; and yet the Pharisees (like the Traditionists of all ages) were per- 
fectly blind to it, and multiplied outward ceremonies as the substitutes 
for inward purity and love. Hence, the pungent rebukes of our Lord, and 
his solemn re-affirming of the great principle, that Human Traditions, 
whatever guise they assume, and however ancient and almost universal 
they become, can never be accepted by the Searcher of hearts as a part 
of his service, or as obedience to his will. " In vain do ye worship me, 
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Mark vii. 7. 

t Tyre and Sidon were the chief cities of Phoenicia (or Phenice, as it is 
written in the New Testament), a maritime region on the eastern border 
of the Mediterranean sea, about two hundred miles in length, and from 
ten to fifty in breadth. Tyre, near the mouth of the river Leontes, was 
its southern extremity, and Laodicea (or Itakia), where Lebanon joins the 
Anzeyry mountains, bounds it on the north. This fertile and well 
watered region abounded with magnificent cities, in the time of our 
Saviour, enriched by commerce, but enervated by idolatry, hixury, and 
vice. Of these cities. Tyre and Sidon, at the narrow southern extremity, 
were the principal. Sidon (or Zidon), the most ancient of all, it is said, 



188 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ceal himself for a time ; but lie could not be hid. It 

was as impossible for the Sun of righteousness to be con- 
cealed where he came with his healing wings and mes- 
sage of peace, as it is for the sun in the firmament when 
he riseth in all his glory, '''as a bridegroom cometh out 
of his chamber, and as a giant rejoiceth to run his coarse." 
For a certain woman of Canaan, having heard of him, 
determined to implore his assistance. She was, indeed, 
one of the most abject sort of Gentiles, a Canaanite, 
one of that detested race with which the Jews would 
have no dealings, nor even conversation ; but, notwith- 
standing all these discouraging circumstances, she threw 
herself, as an humble petitioner, on the benevolent mer- 
cies of the Son of God. Strong necessity urged her on, 
and insuperable distress caused her to be importunate. 
Alas ! unhappy parent ! her only daughter, her beloved 
child, had an unclean spirit and was grievously vexed 
with a devil. When her case was so urgent and her 
woes so poignant, who can wonder that she was impor- 
tunate and would take no refusal from this divine Per- 
son, who she knew was able to deliver her ? Accordingly, 

was founded by Zidon, the first-born son of Canaan. This whole splendid 
region fell within the lot of the tribe of Ashur, but was never possessed 
by the Israelites. The cities were confederate and powerful, and were 
governed by their own kings, even in the days of David and Solomon. 
They were first conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who 
took Tyre after a siege of thirteen years' duration, and laid it in ruins. 
Still the insular city, or port, remained, and rose into eminence in the 
time of the Persians. This also was taken, after a seven months' siege, 
by Alexander the Great, who employed the ruins of the old city to build 
a causeway to the new (which was on an island four miles out from the 
shore), stormed and burned it. Again it rose from its ashes, and became 
more flourishing than Sidon, under the Greeks and Romans. Phoenicia 
was attached to the province of Syria, in our Saviour's time, and hence 
the woman of Canaan is called a Syro-Phoenician. Mark vii. 26. 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



189 



shi came; she besought him ; she cried, saying, Have 
mercy upon me, 0 Lord, thou Son of David, have 
mercy." I plead no merits : as a worthless, suffering 
wretch, I entreat only the bowels of thy mercy ; I en- 
treat it, for I believe thee to be the Son of David, the 
promised Messiah, the much desired Saviour of the 
world ; have mercy on me, for the case of my child and 
her distresses are my own : " My daughter is grievously 
vexed with a devil." Matt. xv. 22. 

Is it not, at the first view, astonishing that such a 
petitioner should be apparently rejected, and that by a 
bountiful Redeemer, who kindly invited all that were 
heavy laden to come to him ? who promised never to 
cast out any that would come, and whose business it 
was ''to go about doing good T 

We, however, find that he answered this woman not 
a word : he did not, in appearance, take the least notice 
either of her or her distress. But this silence did not 
intimidate her : she still cried, she still besought, she 
still importunately pressed her petition, so that the very 
disciples were moved with her cries and became her ad- 
vocates. They themselves, though Jews, besought their 
Master to dismiss this petitioner, to grant her request 
and send her away. 

But Jesus soon silenced them by an answer agreeable 
to their own prejudices : I am not sent," said he, 
" but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."* To 
this the disciples readily assented ; and, as they had a 

* The personal ministry of Christ was purposely devoted to the Jewish 
nation, though his salvation was designed, in due time, to reach every 
people. Samaritans and Greeks found him accessible and gracious, and 
confessed him as " the Saviour of the world." John iv. 42 ; xii. 20-32. 



190 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



high opinion of the Jew's prerogative, were so well sat- 
isfied with the answer that we hear them pleading no 
more for this lost, this miserable Gentile. 

But this soothed not her griefs : it was her own cause ; 
and what is immediately our own concern animates us 
to the most zealous application. Somewhat encouraged 
that she was the subject of discourse, she ventured to 
approach the Saviour of the world, though she well 
knew that the law actually forbade such an intercourse ; 
yet she came ; she worshipped this Son of David," she 
confessed again his divinity, and prayed, saying: ^'Lord, 
help me." 

The compassionate Saviour now condescended to 
speak to her, but with words seemingly sufficient to 
have discouraged every further attempt — nay, to have 
filled her with bitter dislike to his person, though she 
had conceived such high and noble notions of his mercy 
and favor : It is not meet," said he, " to take the 
children's bread and cast it to the dogs." Matt. xv. 26. 
It is not justice to deprive the Jews, who are the chil- 
dren of the covenant, the descendants of Abraham, of 
any part of those blessings which I came into the 
world to bestow, especially on you, who are aliens 
and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel. 

This answer, though seemingly severe, could not 
shake her humility iior overcome her patience : she 
meekly answered, Truth, Lord ; yet the dogs eat of 
the crumbs which fall from their Master's table." Matt. 
XV. 27. Let me enjoy that kindness which the dogs of 
any family are not denied ; from the plenty of miracu 
ious cures which thou bestowest on the Jews, drop this 
one to me, who am a poor distressed heathen ; for they 



A 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 191 

will suflfer no greater loss by it than the children of a 
family do by the crumbs which are cast to the dogs. 
Our Lord, having put the woman's faith to very severe 
trial, and well knowing that she possessed a just notion 
of his power and goodness, as well as of her own un- 
worthiness, wrought with pleasure the cure she solicited 
in behalf of her daughter, and at the same time gave 
her faith the praise it so justly deserved : '^0 woman, 
great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt. 
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." 
Matt. XV. 28. 

After performing this miracle, Jesus returned to the 
Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis.* In this 
country, a man was brought to him who was deaf and 
had an impediment in his speech. Objects in distress 
were always treated with benevolence by the holy Jesus ; 
but, as the people now thronged about him, in expecta^ 
tion that he would soon establish his kingdom, he 
thought proper to take the man, with his relations, 
aside from the multitude ; after which he put his fingers 
in his ears and touched his tongue, that the deaf man, 
who could not be instructed by language, might know 
from whence all his benefits flowed. He then "looked 
up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Eph- 

* Decapolis (as the name denotes in Greek) was the region of the 
ten cities — Gadara, Pella, Gerasa, Scythopohs, Hippos, Philadelphia, 
Dios, Raphanae, Ortogos, and Damascus. It lay south of the Sea of Gali- 
lee, on both sides of the Jordan, but chiefly on the east, toward the 
ford Jabbok. Though belonging to Israel, it was settled quite largely by 
foreigners, and hence its foreign name. J esus had visited the neighbor- 
hood of Gadara once before, and the Gadarenes had desired him to depart 
out of their coasts. The testimony of the restored demoniac seems to 
have prepared a better reception for him this lime. Mark v. 18-20. 



1^2 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



phatha, that is. Be opened. And straightway his ears 
were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, 
and he spake plain. And he charged them that they 
should tell no man." Mark vii. 34, 35, 36. 

But, notwithstanding they were enjoined to secrecy, 
the man, or his relations, published it in every part of • 
the country, doubtless thinking they could not be too 
lavish in the praises of so great a benefactor, especially 
as the modesty with which he had performed the cure 
abundantly demonstrated that his sole view was the 
benefit of the human race. 

Miracles like these could not fail of astonishing the 
spectators, especially those performed upon the dumb; 
for it must be remembered that he not only conferred 
on those the faculty of hearing, and pronouncing articu- 
late sounds, but conveyed at once into their minds the 
whole language of their country; they were instantly 
acquainted with all the words it contained, their signifi- 
cation, their forms, their powers, and their uses : at the 
same time they enjoyed the habit of speaking it both 
fluently and copiously. This was surely enough to 
demonstrate to the most stupid that such works could 
have been effected by nothing less than infinite power. 

The multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to 
speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and 
the blind to see; and they glorified the God of Israel." 
Matt. XV. 31. 

The various works performed by the blessed Kedeemer 
detained the multitude in the desert with him three 
days, during which time they consumed all the provi- 
sions they had brought into this solitary place. But 
Jesus would not send them away fasting, lest any who 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



103 



had followed him so far from their habitations should 
faint in their return. Accordingly he again exerted his 
almighty power, to feed the multitude a second time in 
the wilderness. 

After feeding the multitude miraculously, J esus retired 
into a district called Dalmanutha, a part of the territory 
of Magdala.* Here he was visited by the Pharisees, 
wh., having heard that he had a second time fed the 
multitude miraculously, were fearful that the common 
people would acknowledge him for the Messiah : and 
therefore determined openly and publicly to confute his 
pretensions to that character. 

In order to do this, they boldly demanded of him a 
sign from heaven : for it must be remembered, that the 
Jews expected the Messiah would make his first public 
appearance in the clouds of heaven, and in a glorious 
manner establish a temporal kingdom. This opinion 
they founded on the following prophecy of Daniel, which 
they understood literally ;f ''I saw in the night visions. 



* Magdala was a city of some note on the west side of the Sea of Gah- 
lee, about midway between Tiberias and Capernanm, being about three 
miles distant from each. It was the residence of Mary Magdalen^ a 
woman of wealth, who having been delivered from a terrible demoniac 
possession by our Saviour, afterward devoted herself most gratefully to 
his service. Dalmanutha was the district around Magdala, as Gennes- 
sareth was around Capernaum, but more hilly and less fertile. 

t A literal interpretation may sometimes be a perverse one, and so it 
was here. For the prophet did not describe the Son of man as coming 
from heaven to earth (as they imagined), but as ascending from earth to 
heaven to receive his mediatorial throne ; and this he did literally after 
his resurrection from the dead. 

There is a class of Christian interprctors in our day, who commit the 
same miatake, and yet claim to be literal interpreters. Undoubtedly, 
Christ will come at his Second Advent in the clouds of heaven, in like 
13 



194 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and, behold^ one like the Son of man came with the 
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and 
they brought him near before him. And there was 
given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all 
people, nations, and languages, should serve him. His 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not 
pass away ; and his kingdom that which shall not be 
destroyed." Daniel vii. 13, 14. 

It is therefore evident that the Pharisees, by desiring 
Jesus to show them a sign from heaven, meant that he 
should demonstrate himself to be the Messiah, by coming 
in a visible and miraculous manner from heaven, and 
wresting with great pomp the sceptre of David from the 
hands of the Romans. 

Their disposition was absolutely incorrigible ; so that 
Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit, and declared that the 
sign they sought should never be given them ; and that 
the only sign they were to expect was that of the prophet 
Jonas, or the miracle of his own resurrection : a sign 
indeed much greater than any shown by the ancient 
prophets ; and consequently a sign which demonstrated 
that Jesus was far superior to them all. A wicked 
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there 
shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet 
Jonas." Matt. xvi. 4. 

Having thus reproved the impertinent curiosity of the 
Pharisees, he departed, with his disciples, and entered 
into a ship; and as they sailed, he cautioned them to 
beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees, 
which he termed leaven, from its pernicious influence in 

manner as he ascended (Acts i. 11) ; but the vision of Daniel in question 
does not refer to the Second Advent, but to the Ascensif^'^ of Christ. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



195 



filling the minds of men with pride, and other irregular 
passions. 

On his landing at Bethsaida, they brought unto him 
a blind man, desiring that he would heal him. Jesus 
accordingly took the man by the hand, and led him out 
of the city, and having spit upon his eyes, and put his 
hands upon him, asked him if he saw aught ? To which 
the man answered, " I see men as trees walking." A 
very proper expression to convey an idea of the indis- 
tinctness of his vision. Jesus then put his hands again 
upon him, and he was restored to sight, and saw every 
man clearly." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE BLESSED JESUS DELEGATES POWER TO PETER, ONE OF 
HIS DISCIPLES — PRONOUNCES THE FINAL JUDGMENT OF 
THE WORLD, AND IS AFTERWARD TRANSFIGURED UPON 
THE MOUNT. 

Jesus, having displayed his power and goodness in re- 
storing the blind man to his sight, departed from Beth- 
saida, and returned to the territory of Cesarea Philippi, 
where, being desirous of proving in some measure the 
faith of the apostles, he asked them, saying, Whom 
do men say that I, the Son of man, am ? And they said, 
Some say thou art John the Baptist ; some, Elias ; and 
others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." Matt. xvi. 
13, 14. 

The people in general mistook the character of our 
Saviour. Jesus was therefore desirous of hearing what 



196 



LIFE OF JHRIST. 



idea his disciples formed of his character, as they had 
long enjoyed the IjenejSt of his doctrine and miracles, 
and accordingly asked them what they themselves un- 
derstood him to be. To this question Simon Peter re- 
plied, ^^Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

Our Saviour acknowledged the title, telling Peter that 
God alone had revealed the secret* to him. And in 
allusion to his surname, Peter, which signifies a rock, 
our Saviour promised that upon himself, as the founda- 
tion (and by means of this very faith and confession 
which Peter had just made, of his being the Christ, 
the Son of the living God") , he would build his Church, 
and that he should have a principal hand in establishing 
the Messiah's kingdom, never to be destroyed. " Other 
foundation can no man lay." 1 Cor. iii. 11. On him 
may our souls rest, and the fiercest tempest shall rage 
in vain ! " And I say also unto thee. That thou an 
Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my church ; and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I 
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : 
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound 
in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven." Matt. xvi. 18, 19.f 

* This does not imply that Jesus had hitherto kept his Messiahship a 
secret, for this is contrary to the facts recorded by the Evangelists ; but 
that this great truth, so mysterious to the mass of the nation, and so un- 
welcome to worldly minds, had been made plain and precious to his re- 
newed heart by the power of divine grace. This is in accordance with 
the general current of Scripture. 1 Cor. xii. 3 ; John vi. 44, 45, 65 ; Matt, 
xi. 25, 26. It must be remembered, however, that Peter spoke not for 
himself alone, but for the rest of the apostles, ?.3 before, at Capernaum. 
John vi. 67-69. 

t It is important to remark, that what is here promised to Peter, is no 
pecuhar power, or personal prerogative (as many contend), but a privi- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



197 



Having delegated this power to Peter, our Saviour 
strictly forbade his disciples to tell any man that he 
was the Messiah ; because it had been foretold by the 
prophets that he should be rejected by the rulers ol 
Israel as a false Christ, and suffer the pains of death^ 
Matt. xvi. 20, circumstances which could not fail of 
giving his followers great offence. As they did not yet 
understand the true nature of his kingdom, therefore he 
thought proper to let every man form a judgment of his 
mission from his doctrine and miracles. 

The foregoing discourses had doubtless filled the apos- 
tles with lofty imaginations, and therefore our Saviour 
thought proper to acquaint them with his sufferings, in 
order to check any fond expectation of temporal power 
Peter, however, Avas greatly displeased to hear his 
Master talk of dying at Jerusalem, when he had just 
before acknowledged the title of Messiah. Accordingly, 
he rebuked him for the expression, which he was so bold 
as to think unguarded. But Jesus, turning himself 
about, said to Peter, ''^Get thee behind me, Satan: thou 
art an offence to me : for thou savorest not the things 
that be of God, but those that be of men." Matt, 
xvi. 23. 

Peter's conduct, in this respect, arising from an im- 
moderate attachment to earthly objects, our Saviour 

lege shared in common with him, not only by his fellow apostles, but by 
all professed believers in the Church of Christ, in every land and age. 
See Matt, xviii. 17, 18. "The keys of the kingdom of heaven" are con- 
tained in the Gospel of Christ, and every man who rightly understands 
and opens the G ospel, whether in doctrine, discipline, experience, or prac- 
tice, uses these keys. Thus Peter first used them to the Jews on the du; 
of Pentecost, and to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. Acts ii. 1'/ 
This is the only " primacy" Peter ever had. 



198 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



thought proper to declare publicly that all who intended 
to share with him the glory of the heavenly Canaan 
must deny themselves ; that is, they must be always 
ready to renounce every worldly pleasure, and even life 
itself, when the cause of religion requires it : he also 
told them that in this world they must expect to meet 
with troubles and disappointments, and that whoever 
intended to be his disciple, must " take up his cross and 
follow him." 

Thus did the blessed Jesus fully explain to his disci- 
ples the true nature of his kingdom, and at the same 
time intimated that, though they had already undergone 
many afflictions, yet they must expect still more and 
greater, which they must sustain with equal fortitude, 
following their Master in the footsteps of his afflictions. 
This duty, however hard, was absolutely necessary ; 
because by losing their temporal life they would gain 
that which was eternal : " For whosoever shall save his 
life shall lose it ; but whosoever will lose his life for my 
sake, the same shall save it." Luke ix. 24. " For 
what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man 
give in exchange for his soul?" Matt. xvi. 26. 

To add to the weight of this argument, and to enforce 
the necessity of self-denial, our Saviour particular!}^ de- 
clared that a day was fixed for distributing rewards and 
punishments to all the human race, and that he himself 
was appointed by the Father as universal Judge, so that 
his enemies could not flatter themselves with the hope 
of escaping the punishment they deserved, nor his friends 
be afraid of losing their eternal reward. Whosoever, 
therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and my words, in this 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



199 



adilterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the 
Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of 
his Father, with the holy angels." Mark viii. 38. 

About eight days after this discourse, our blessed 
Sa.viour, being with the multitude in the country of 
Cesarea Philippi,* left them in the plain, and, accompanied 
by Peter, James, and John, ascended an exceedingly 
high mountain. f 

In this solitude, while Jesus was praying with these 



* Cesarea Philippi, the capital of Trachonitis, under Philip the 
Tetrarch, was formerly called Paneas. It was rebuilt and enlarged by 
Philip, and named Cesarea in honor of Tiberius Caesar. To distinguish 
it from Cesarea on the Mediterranean, built by Herod the Great, it was 
called Cesarea Philippi. It was situated on an elevated plateau, near the 
eastern sources of the Jordan, about three miles east of Dan, and about 
twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee. Mount Hermon, robed in snow, 
rises, on the north, to the altitude of ten thousand feet, towering far above 
all the mountains of Syria, and forming the northeastern boundary of 
Palestine. 

t This " high mountain," being in the neighborhood of Cesarea 
Philippi, is not Mount Tabor, but Mount Hermon, as is now generally 
agreed. Tabor was fifty miles distant, was but about twelve hundred 
feet high, and in the time of Christ was fortified, and held by a Eoman 
garrison. All these circumstances combine to discredit the tradition 
that Mount Tabor was the scene of the Transfiguration, while every 
thing conspires to show that Mount Hermon, the grandest mountain in 
Syria or Palestine, was selected for that grand event. It is the loftiest 
summit of the range of Lebanon, and is three tljiousand feet higher than 
Mount Sinai in Arabia. In some places Hermon is called Sion (not 
Zion), Sirion, and Shenir. Deut. iii. 8 ; iv. 39. 

From a hill north of Nazareth, Dr. Hackett saw Mount Hermon on 
the northeast, and says, It rose immensely above every surrounding 
object." How familiar, then, must it have been to the eye of Jesus from 
his youth ! And, if we may suppose it to be " the exceeding high moun- 
tain" from which Satan tempted him by a view of the glory of this world, 
how fitly was it chosen for the display of the brighter glories of anothoj 
world ! 



200 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

three disciples, he was transfigured : his face became 
radiant and dazzling ; it shone like the sun in his me- 
ridian clearness. At the same time, his garments ac- 
quired a snowy whiteness, far beyond any thing human 
art could produce — a whiteness bright as the light, and 
sweetly refulgent, but in a degree inferior to the radiance 
of his countenance. 

Thus, as it were, for an instant, the Son of God, 
during his state of humiliation, suffered the glory of his 
divinity to shine through the vail of human nature with 
which it was covered ; and, to heighten the grandeur 
and solemnity of the scene, Moses, the great lawgiver 
of Israel, and Elijah, a zealous defender of the law, ap- 
peared in the beauties of immortality — the robes in which 
the inhabitants of the heavenly Canaan are adorned. 
The disciples, it seems, did not see the beginning of this 
transfiguration : happening to fall asleep,* at the time 
of prayer, they lost that pleasure, together with a great 
part of the conversation which these two prophets held 
with the only-begotten Son of God. 

They, however, understood that the subject was his 
meritorious suffering and death, by which he was to re- 
deem the world ; a subject that had, a few days before, 
given great offence to his disciples, particularly to Peter. 
At beholding the^ illustrious sight, the disciples were 
greatly amazed : but, the forwardness of Peter's disposi- 
tion prompting him to say something, he uttered he 

^ This drowsiness, at such a time, would seem incredible, or at least 
highly culpable, did we not recollect the great fatigue which followed the 
ascent of so high a mountain, and the. solemn silence of nature around 
them. It was not the only instance in which " the spirit was willing, but 
the flesh was weak.'' 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



201 



knew not what : Master/' said he, is good for us 
to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for 
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." Mark 
ix. 5. 

This disciple imagined that Jesus had now assumed 
his proper dignity ; that Elias was come, according to 
Malachi's prediction, and the Messiah's kingdom was at 
length begun. Accordingly, he thought it was necessary 
to provide some accommodations for his Master and his 
august assistants, intending, perhaps, to bring the rest 
of the disciples, with the multitude, from the plain be- 
low, to behold his matchless glory. This, he thought, 
was much better for his Master than to be put to death 
at Jerusalem, concerning which Jesus had been talking 
with the messengers from heaven, and the design of 
which Peter could not comprehend. 

But " while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud over- 
shadowed them ; and, behold, a voice out of the cloud, 
which said. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased : hear ye him."* Matt. xvii. 5. 

When the three disciples heard the voice, which, like the 
roaring thunder, burst from the cloud, and was such as 

* The appearance of Moses and Elias, the one the giver and the other the 
defender of the Law, seems evidently designed to show, by their united tes- 
timony, that the Law and the Prophets were fulfilled and honored in the 
death of Jesus for our sins ; and their disappearance, followed by the 
voice from heaven, proclaimed that all their authority was henceforth to 
be absorbed in the higher teachings of the Son of God. The Mosaic and 
Christian Dispensations find their true point of union in him, " whose 
decease was about to be accomplished at Jerusalem." 

Peter would have built "three" tabernacles; but while he speaks, 
Moses and Elias vanish, and the Lord of glory remains alone. Taber- 
nacle, and altar, and worship,belong only to him ; nor shall any one arise 
to rival or supersede him, who is forever "the Head of all principality 
and power." Col. ii. 9, 10. 



202 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



mortals were unaccustomed to hear, they fell on their faces 
and contmued in that posture till Jesus approached, 
raised them up, and dispelled their fears, saying unto 
them, "Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had 
lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only." 
Matt. xvii. 7, 8.* 

J esus, having continued all night with his three dis- 
ciples on the mountain, returned to the plain early in 
the morning, charging them to conceal what they had 
seen till after he was risen from the dead. He well 
knew that the world, and even his own disciples, were 
not yet able to comprehend the design of his Transfigu- 
ration, and that if it had been published before his 
resurrection, it might have appeared incredible ; because 
nothing but afflictions and persecutions had hitherto 
attended him. He was truly a man of sorrows, and 
acquainted with grief." 

* All the events in this chapter, according to Dr. Eobinson, occurred 
in May, A. D. 32, nearly a year before the Crucifixion. They were all 
designed to prepare the apostles for that, to them, most mysterious close 
of our Lord's personal ministry, by establishing their faith in him as a 
suffering and redeeming Messiah. That death of ignominy, which they 
on earth dreaded above all things, was shown to be the object of deepest 
interest to the inhabitants of heaven, and essential to the Saviour'?, 
highest glory, aji well as our salvation. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



203 



CHAPTER XVII. 

OUR SAYIOUR RELIEVES A YOUTH TORTURED WITH A DUMB 
SPIRIT — COJfFORMS CHEERFULLY TO THE CUSTOM OF THE 

COUNTRY, BY PAYING THE TRIBUTE REPROVES THE PRIDE 

OF HIS DISCIPLES, AND DELIVERS SOME EXCELLENT MORAL 
PRECEPTS. 

When our Lord approached the descent of the moun- 
tain, accompanied by his three disciples, he saw a great 
multitude surrounding the nine who continued in the 
plain, and the Scribes disputing with them. The people, 
seeing Jesus " coming down from the mountain, ran to 
him and saluted him with particular reverence. After 
which, Jesus asked the Scribes what was the subject of 
their debate with his disciples. To which one of the 
multitude answered, " Master, I have brought unto thee 
my son, who hath a dumb spirit : and wheresoever he 
taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth and 
gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away : and I spake 
to thy disciples that they should cast him out ; and they 
could not." Mark ix. 17, 18. 

This answer, being made by one of the multitude, 
and not by the Scribes, to whom the question was di- 
rected, indicates that they had been disputing with the 
disciples on their not being able to cure this afflicted 
youth : perhaps their making this unsuccessful attempt 
had given the Scribes occasion to boast that a devil was 
at length found which neither they nor their Master 
could conquer. This seems to be indicated by the 
manner in which our Saviour addressed himself to th(),- e 



204 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



arrogant rulers. 0, faithless generation !" says lie, 
''how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer 
you ?" Must I always bear with your infidelity ? After 
speaking in this manner to the Scribes, he turned him- 
self to the father of the young man, and said, " Bring 
thy son hither." But no sooner was he brought in 
sight of his deliverer, than the evil spirit attacked him, 
as it were, with double fury : " The spirit tare him ; 
and he fell on the ground, and wallowed, foaming." 
Mark ix. 20. 

Jesus could easily have prevented this attack ; but he 
permitted it that the minds of the spectators might be 
impressed with a more lively idea of this youth's dis- 
tress. And for the same reason probably it was that he 
asked the father how long he had been in this deplora- 
ble condition. To which the afflicted parent answered, 
'' Of a child : and ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, 
and into the waters, to destroy him : but if thou canst 
do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us." 
Mark ix. 21, 22. 

The inability of our Lord's disciples to cast out this 
spirit had greatly discouraged the afflicted father ; and 
the exquisite torture of his son, and the remembrance of 
its long continuance, so dispirited him that he began to 
fear this possession was even too great for the power of 
U"esus himself, as the Scribes had probably before affirmed, 
and therefore could not help expressing his doubts and 
fears. But Jesus, to make him sensible of his mistake, 
said to him, ''If thou canst believe, all things are pos- 
sible to him that believeth." On which the father cried 
out, with tears, ''Lord, I believe; help thou mine un- 
belief." The vehement manner in which he spake 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



205 



causing the crowd to gather from every quaiter, Jesus 
rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb 
and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and 
enter no more into him." Mark ix. 2-5. 

No sooner was the powerful exit pronounced than the 
spirit, with a hideous howling, and convulsing of the 
suffering patient in the most deplorable manner, came 
out, leaving the youth senseless and without motion, till 
Jesus, taking him by the hand, restored him to life, and 
delivered him, perfectly recovered, to his father. 

The nine disciples, during this whole transaction, re- 
mained silent. They were, doubtless, mortified to think 
that they had lost, by some fault of their own, the power 
of working miracles, lately conferred upon them by their 
Master, and, for this reason, were afraid to speak to 
him in the presence of the multitude. But when they 
came into the house, they desired Jesus to inform them 
why they had failed in their attempt to heal that re- 
markable youth. To which Jesus answered, Because 
of your unbelief." But, to encourage them, he described 
the efficacy of the faith of miracles : If ye have faith 
as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this moun- 
tain. Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove ; 
and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matt, 
xvii. 20. Nothing shall be too great for you to accom- 
plish, when the glory of God and the good of the church 
are concerned, provided you have a proper degree of 
faith : even yonder mountain, which bids defiance to the 
storm and smiles at the attacks of its mingled horrors, 
shall, at your command, leave its firm basis and remove 
to another pi ace. 



* If the mountain here referred to was Mount Hermon, as is probable 



206 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



The expulsion of the dumb spirit seems to have aston- 
ished the disciples more than any other miracle they had 
seen their Master perform ; so that our Sa^^iour found it 
necessary to moderate their high admiration of his 
works, by again predicting his own death, and retiring 
for a time into the most unfrequented parts of Galilee. 

After a short tour through the desert part of Galilee, 
J esus returned into Capernaum, the place of his general 
residence. Soon after his arrival, the tax-gatherers 
came to Peter, and asked him whether his Master would 
pay the tribute. That disciple, it seems, had promised 
that Jesus would satisfy their demand, but, on a more 
mature consideration, feared to ask him concerning his 
paying taxes, on any pretence whatever.* 

Jesus was, however, no stranger to what had hap- 
jDened, and the fear of Peter to ask him, and therefore 
turned his discourse to this subject, by saying unto him, 
" What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of 
the earth take custom or tribute ? of their own children 
or of strangers ? Peter saith unto him. Of strangers. 
Jesus saith unto him. Then are the children free;" 
insinuating that, as he was himself the Son of the Great 

what new force does it give to this remarkable declaration. See the last 
two notes. 

* It does not appear obvious why Peter should fear to speak to Jesus 
on paying the temple tax to the collectors. He had doubtless always 
paid it before, and therefore Peter at once answered the collectors in the 
affirmative. Why then did he afterward doubt? Was it that their 
moK.ey was exhausted during their long tour in Northern Galilee ? Or 
wah it that his new ideas, derived from the Transfiguration, made him 
doubt whether it was to be paid any more? Probably both motives 
were combined ; and the words of Jesus supply a full answer to both his 
diflBculties. The other disciples may have paid already, so that he only 
and Jesus were concerned in the question. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



207 



Kingj to whom heaven, earth, and the sea belong, he 
was not bound to pay tribute to any monarch whatever, 
because he held nothing by a derived right. Or, if we 
suppose this contribution was made for the service and 
reparation of the temple, he meant that, as he was the 
Son of that omnipotent Being to whom the tribute was 
paid, he could have justly excused himself But the 
blessed Jesus was always careful not to give offence, 
and therefore sent Peter to the lake, with a line and 
hook, telling him that in the mouth of the first fish that 
came up he should find a piece of money equal to the 
sum demanded of them both.'* " Notwithstanding, lest 
we should olfend them, go thou to the sea, and cast the 
hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up ; and 
when thou hast opened his mouth thou shalt find a piece 
of money : that take, and give unto them for me and 
thee." Matt. xvii. 27. 

Our Lord took this extraordinary method of paying 
the tribute money in this manner, because the miracle 
was of such a kind as could not fail to demonstrate that 
he was the Son of the Great Monarch worshipped in the 
temple and who rules the universe. In the very manner, 
therefore, of paying this tribute, he showed Peter that 
he was free from all taxes, and at the same time gave 

* The silver stater (whose vakie was equal to the Jewish shekel) would 
just pay the temple tax for two. 

That the exact sum required for both would be found in the first fish 
caught — found in the mouth, and not in the belly — presupposes omni- 
science in Jesus. It shows further that not only did "the winds and 
the sea obey him," but " whatsoever passeth through the paths of the 
seas." Ps. viii. 8. The very coin is specified in the original language 
of J esus— the (jreck stater — a coin equal in value to four Roman denarii, 
or one Jewish shekel. The temple tax was a half shekel for each. 



208 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



this useful lesson to his followers, that, when the property 
is affected only in a small degree, it is better to recede 
a little from their just right than to offend their brethren 
or disturb the state by obstinately insisting on it. 

The disciples, convinced that it was in vain to conceal 
the subject of the debate that had happened on the way, 
drew near to their Master, desiring him to decide a 
point which had often given occasion to disputes : 

Who," said they, " is the greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven ?" Matt, xviii. 1. Jesus, to check these foolish 
emulations in his disciples, called a little child unto him, 
and placed him in the midst, that they might consider 
him attentively, and said unto them, "Yerily I say 
unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
Matt, xviii. 3. Unless ye be humbled by the power of 
divine grace, and brought to a due sense of the vanity 
of all earthly preferments, riches, and honors, and 
become meek and humble in spirit, ye shall be so far 
from becoming the greatest in my kingdom, that ye 
shall never enter its borders. But whosoever shall be 
satisfied with the station in which God has placed him, 
receive with meekness all the divine instructions, how- 
ever contrary to his own inclinations, and prefer others 
to himself, that man is really the greatest in my king- 
dom. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as 
this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven." Matt, xviii. 4. 

It appears, from circumstances, that James and John, 
the sons of Zebedee, were principally concerned in this 
debate, for we find that J ohn endeavored to divert it by 
telling his Master that they had seen one casting out 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



209 



devils in his name, and had forbidden him, because he 
did not join himself to their company ; to which J esiis 
replied, Forbid him not : for there is no man which 
shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak 
evil of me." Mark, ix. 39. 

You should, added the blessed Jesus, consider that 
every one who does not persecute us is a friend : For 
whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, in 
my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto 
you, he shall not lose his reward." Mark ix. 41. 

But, on the other hand, the least discouragement 
given to his disciples in the propagation of the gospel, 
come from what quarter it will, shall be punished with 
the greatest severity. ^^And whosoever shall offend 
one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better 
for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, 
and he were cast into the sea." Mark, ix. 42. 

From this saying, Jesus inferred, that it was more 
advantageous to deny ourselves the highest enjoyments 
of this world, and to part with every thing, however 
precious, represented by a hand, a foot, or an eye, than 
by these to cause the weakest of his friends to stumble. 
And as they were to be the salt of the earth, it was requi- 
site they should themselves be filled with the spiritual 
salt of all the graces, and particularly the holy salt of 
love and peace. 

Pride is the source of numberless sins ; and therefore 
the blessed Jesus cautioned his disciples, in the most 
solemn manner, to beware of that vice ; assuring them, 
that the meanest child is an object of the care of Provi- 
dence; and ^Hhat their angels do always behold the face 
of my Father which is in heaven." 

14 



210 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



To show the concern of his Almighty Father for the 
least of his reasonable creatures, and the great value he 
sets upon the souls of the human race, our Saviour told 
them, that he not only gave his highest angels charge 
concerning them, but had also sent his only begotten 
Son to seek and to save that which was lost ; and would 
share in the joy which the heavenly beings are filled 
with on their recovery. Matt, xviii. 12, 13, 14. 

Having thus addressed the offending party, he turned 
himself toward his disciples, and gave them instructions 
with regard to the ojffended. '^If thy brother shall 
trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between 
thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee, thou hast 
gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then 
take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of 
two or three witnesses, every word may be established. 
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the 
church ; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be 
unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." Matt, 
xviii. 15, 16, 17. 

If the offending brother continues impenitent after all 
the methods above described are tried, his guilt is bound 
the faster upon him; because, by the precepts of the 
gospel, none but penitents can obtain pardon. 

Our blessed Saviour also added, as an encouragement 
to good men, that if they continued earnest in their en- 
deavors to bring sinners to repentance, and offered up 
their prayers to the Almighty for assistance, he would 
always grant their petitions, provided they were agreea- 
ble to the wise ends of his providence. Again I say 
unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as 
touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



211 



for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where 
two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." Matt, xviii. 19, 20. 

Peter had before heard his Master speak of the doc- 
trine of frequent forgiveness, and thought it a strange 
doctrine which obliged him to forgive offences seven 
times repeated ; but our blessed Saviour told him that 
he was very greatly mistaken : that he never intended 
to limit forgiveness to seven times, but that it ought to 
be extended even to seventy times seven. 

This excellent moral precept he enforced by the para- 
ble of the two servants, debtors to one lord ; in order to 
show the necessity of forgiving the greatest injuries in 
every case where the offending party is sensible of his 
fault, and promises amendment ; because on this condi- 
tion alone, our heavenly Father will forgive our offences. 

So likewise, added the Son of God, shall my heavenly 
Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts for- 
give not every one his brother their trespasses." Matt, 
xviii. 34, 35. And surely this awful threatening ought 
to strike the minds of fierce and implacable men with 
terror. For whatever they may think, it will certainly, 
in its full extent, be inflicted upon all who refuse to 
obey the dictates of divine mercy, and forgive not only 
their fellow-servants, but every brother in Christ, who, 
through weakness or inadvertence, may have done them 
an injury either in persop or property. 



212 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

OUR BLESSED LORD QUITS GALILEE FINALLY HE GOES UP 

PRIVATELY TO JERUSALEM ADDRESSES THE MULTITUDE 

AT THE SOLEMN FEAST OF TABERNACLES — EXEMPTS THE 
WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY FROM THE PUNISHMENT AN- 
NEXED BY THE JEWS TO THAT CRIME ESCAPES FROM 

THE SNARES LAID FOR HIM BY THE INVETERATE SCRIBES 
AND PHARISEES. 

The great Redeemer, having finished his Father's 
work in GaUlee, departed into Judea.* The Feast of 
Tabernacles now drew on, at which all the males of the 
Jewish nation, capable of travelling, repaired to Jerusa- 
lem, and dwelt in the tabernacles, or booths made of the 
boughs of trees, in commemoration of their fathers having 
had no other habitation during their forty years' sojourn- 
ing in the wilderness. f To this feast some of the kins- 
men of the blessed Jesus desired he would accompany 
them and there show himself openly to the whole nation 
of the J ews. They did hot themselves believe that he 
was the great Prophet so long expected, and therefore 

* The reader should clearly notice the important fact that this depar- 
ture of Jesus from Galilee was final. Jesus did indeed meet his disciples 
in Galilee after his resurrection ; but his public ministry in that region 
closed at this time, and was transferred to Judea and Perea, for the re- 
maining six months of his life. This fact gives new interest to the words 
recorded in Luke ix. 51-62. 

t The Feast of Tabernacles fell on the fifteenth day of the Jewish month 
risri, and corresponded nearly to the last days of October with us. It 
was also called the Feast of Harvest, and was celebrated like the Passover 
for eight davs, the first and eighth of which were Sabbaths, or holy days. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



213 



condemned the method he pursued in his public ministry 
as altogether absurd.* If thou do these things, show 
thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren be- 
lieve in him." John vii. 3-5. 

" My time," said the blessed Jesus to these unbeliev- 
ing relations, ^^is not yet come; but your time is always 
ready. The world cannot hate you ; but me it hateth, 
because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. 
Go ye up unto this feast : I go not up yet unto this feast ; 
for my time is not yet full come." John vii. 6-18. As 
if he had said. You may repair to the capital whenever 
you please ; the Jews are your friends, you have done 
nothing to displease them ; but the purity of the doctrine 
I have preached to them, and the freedom with which I 
have reproved their hypocrisy and other enormous 
crimes, have provoked their malice to the utmost height, 
and therefore, as the time of my sufferings is not yet 
come, it is not prudent for me to go so soon to Jerusalem. 

There was also another reason why our blessed Saviour 
refused to accompany these relations to the Feast of Tab- 
ernacles : the roads were crowded with people, and these, 

* Unbelief is always attended with its natural penalty of short-sight- 
edness. The methods of divine wisdom are beyond its range and com- 
prehension, yet it presumes to judge and to dictate, as if it held the seat 
of infinite authority. Had these unbelieving kinsmen of Jesus been able 
to see but two weeks ahead, they might have spared their bitter taunts on 
this occasion. The plan of the Eedeemer was timed to the very hour, 
and he was actually prepared to take the bold step at that very feast, to 
which they, as it were, dared him. But he chose to do it in a private 
way, that enabled him to escape the crowds pressing up to Jerusalem, 
and to despatch seventy more of his disciples under a solemn commission 
to prepare liis way in Perea and Judea. Luke x. 1-16. This accom 
plished, he took the direct route through Samaria to Jerusalem, and sud 
denly appeared there in the midst of the feast. 



214 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



gathering around him and accompanying him to Jerusa 
lem, would, doubtless, have given fresh offence to his 
enemies, and have in a great measure prevented his 
miracles and doctrines from having the desired effect. 
He therefore chose to continue in Galilee till the crowd 
were all gone up to Jerusalem, when he followed, as it 
were, in secret, neither preaching nor working miracles 
by the way, so that no crowd attended him to the feast.'^ 

The road from Galilee to Jerusalem lay through Sa- 
maria, and the inhabitants were those who entertained 
the most inveterate hatred against all who worshipped 
in Jerusalem. Jesus, being no stranger to this disposi- 
tion of the Samaritans, thought proper to send messen- 
gers before him, that they might, against his arrival, 
find reception for him in one of the villages. The pre- 
judiced Samaritans, finding the intention of his journey 
was to worship in the temple at Jerusalem, refused to 
receive either him or his disciples into their houses. 

The messengers, being thus disappointed, returned to 
Jesus, and gave him an account of all that had passed ; 
at which James and John were so exceedingly incensed 
that they proposed to their Master to call fire from 
heaven, in order to destroy such inhospitable wretches ; 
alleging, in excuse for such violent proceedings, the ex- 
ample of the prophet Elijah : Lord, wilt thou that we 
command fire to come down from heaven and consume 
them, even as Elias did?" Luke ix. 54. 

Our Lord, desirous of displaying an example of hu- 
mility on every occasion, sharply rebuked them for en- 
tertaining so unbecoming a resentment for this offence 



* See the foregoing note. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



215 



Ye know not," said he, what manner of spirit ye 
are of." Ye are ignorant of the sinfulness of the dispo- 
sition ye have now expressed ; nor do ye consider the 
difference of times, persons, and dispensations. The 
severity exercised by Elijah on the men who came from 
Ahab to apprehend him was a just reproof of an idola- 
trous king and people, very proper for the times, and 
very agreeable to the characters both of the prophet who 
gave it and of the offenders to whom it was given, and, 
at the same time, not unsuitable to the Mosaic dispen- 
sation. But the gospel breathes a very different spirit ; 
and the intention of the Messiah's coming into the world 
was not to destroy, but to save, the lives of the children 
of men. 

Ye wise of this world, who reject saving knowledge, 
behold here an instance of patience, under a real and un- 
provoked injury, which you cannot parallel among all 
your boasted heroes of antiquity! — an instance of pa- 
tience which expressed infinite sweetness of disposition, 
and should be imitated by all the human race, especially 
by those who call themselves the disciples of Christ. 

As our blessed Saviour's ministry was from this time 
till its final period to be confined to Judea and the 
countries beyond Jordan, it was necessary that some 
harbingers should be sent into every town and village 
he was to visit, to prepare his way. Accordingly, he 
called seventy disciples unto him, and, after instructing 
them in the duties of their mission and the particulars 
they were to observe in their journey, he sent them into 
different parts of the country, to those particular places 
whither he himself intended to follow them and preach 
the doctrines of the gospel to the inhabitants. Our 



216 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Lord, according to his own declaration, despatched these 
disciples on the same important message as he had done 
the twelve before. 

The harvest was plenteous in Judea and Perea, as 
well as in Galilee, and the laborers also few ; and, being 
nevermore to preach in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caper- 
naum, the cities wherein he had usually resided, he re- 
flected on the reception he himself had met with from 
the inhabitants of those cities. He foresaw the terrible 
consequences that would flow from their rejecting his 
doctrine and the many kind offers he had made them. 
He was grieved for their obstinacy ; and, in the over- 
flowing tenderness of his soul, he lamented the hardness 
of their hearts. Woe," said he, unto thee, Chora- 
zin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works 
had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done 
in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in 
sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for 
Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And 
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall be 
thrust down to hell." Luke x. 13-15. To which our 
Saviour added, as some consolation to his disciples, He 
that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you 
despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me despiseth him 
that sent me." Luke x. 16. 

Such a token of heavenly regard could not fail of 
comforting the Seventy and alleviating their minds 
when thinking of the ill usage they expected to meet 
with during the course of their mission. They well 
knew that the preaching of Christ himself had been 
often despised, and often unsuccessful, with respect to 
many of his hearers ; and therefore they had no very 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



217 



great reason to expect that they should find a more 
welcome reception than their Master. 

As Jesus did not go up openly to J erusalem, so neither 
did he, on his arrival, repair to the temple and there 
preach openly to the people. This gave occasion to 
several disputes among the Jews with regard to his 
character. Some affirmed that he was a true prophet, 
and that his absenting himself from the feast could only 
be owang to accident; w^hile others as confidently as- 
serted that he only deceived the people, and paid no re- 
gard to the institutions they had received from Heaven. 

But about the middle of the feast J esus appeared openly 
in the temple, and taught the people, delivering his doc- 
trines with such strength of reasoning, and elegance of 
expression, that his very enemies were astonished, know- 
ing that he had never enjoyed the advantage of a learned 
education. Now, about the midst of the feast, Jesus 
went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews 
marvelled, saying : How knoweth this man letters, 
having never learned?" John vii. 14, 15. 

To which the Redeemer of mankind replied : My doc- 
trine was not produced by human wisdom : the sages of 
the world were not my instructors : I received it from 
Heaven; it is the doctrine of the Almighty, whose mes- 
senger I am : My doctrine is not mine, but his that 
sent me." John vii. 16. Nor can he who is desirous of 
practising the doctrines I deliver, if he wall lay aside his 
prejudices and sincerely desire to be taught of God, be 
at a loss to know from whom my doctrines are derived ; 
because he will easily discern whether they are conform- 
able to the will of man or of God. It is not difficult 
to discover an impostor, because all his precepts tend to 



218 



LIFE or CHRIST. 



advance his own interest and gratify his pride ; whereas 
aU the doctrines delivered by a true prophet have no 
other end than the glory of God, however contrary they 
may prove to himself. " He that speaketh of himself 
seeketh his own glory ; but he that seeketh his glory 
that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness 
IS in him." John vii. 18. 

The Scribes and Pharisees were highly provoked at 
this attachment of the common people to Jesus; and 
accordingly, on the last and great day of the feast, they 
met in council, and sent several officers to apprehend 
him and bring him before them. 

Jesus, during these transactions in the Council, con- 
tinued in the temple, teaching the people. My ministry, 
said he to the multitude, is drawing near its period; 
and therefore you should, during the short time it has 
to last, be very careful to improve every opportunity of 
hearing the word ; you should listen with the greatest 
attention to every discourse, that your minds may be 
stored with the truths of the Almighty, before I return 
to my Father ; for after my departure you shall earnestly 
wish for the same opportunities of seeing me and hearing 
my instructions, but shall never obtain them. Yet a 
little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that 
sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me ; and 
where I am, thither ye cannot come." John vii. 33, 34. 

The Jews, who did not understand that our blessed 
Saviour alluded to his own death, resurrection, and 
ascension to the right hand of the Majesty on high, 
whither their sins would not permit them to follow him, 
wondered at this doctrine, and imagined that he intended 
to leave Judea and preach to their brethren dispersed 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



219 



among the Gentiles. But if he did go and preach among 
the Gentiles, they thought it was not impossible for 
them to follow him thither : Then said the Jews 
among themselves, What manner of saying is this that 
he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me ; and 
where I am, thither ye cannot come?" Johnvii. 35, 36. 

While the Divine Teacher was thus instructing the 
people in the temple, the water from Siloam was brought 
in, according to the appointment of the prophets Haggai 
and Zechariah, part of which they drank with loud 
acclamations, in commemoration of the mercy showed to 
their fathers, who were relieved by a stream which 
miraculously flowed from a rock and refreshed a w^hole 
nation then ready to perish with thirst in a dreary and 
sandy waste ; and the other part they poured out as a 
drink-offering to the Almight}^, accompanying it with 
their prayers for the former or latter rain to fall in its 
season ; the whole congregation singing the following 
passage : " With joy shall ye draw water out of the 
wells of salvation." Isaiah xii. 3. 

It was the custom of the blessed Jesus to deliver 
spiritual instructions in allusion to many occurrences 
that happened; and, accordingly, he took this oppor- 
tunity of inviting, in the most affectionate manner, all 
w^ho were desirous of knowledge or happiness to come to 
him and drink, alluding to the ceremony they were then 
performing. And, to encourage all such as were desirous 
of believing in him, he promised them the gift of the 
Holy Spirit, which he represented under the similitude 
of a river flowing out of their hearts. " In the last day, 
that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying. 
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 



220 



LIFE OP CHRIST. 



He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, 
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John 
vii. 37, 38. 

During this discourse to the people, the officers from 
the Council came to apprehend him ; but, hearing that 
the topic he was discussing was a singular one, and he 
seemed to deliver his discourse with remarkable fervor, 
their curiosity induced them to listen some time before 
they laid hands on him. But the eloquent manner in 
which he delivered his subject appeased their rage ; the 
sweetness of his disposition, and the plainness and 
perspicuity of his discourse, elucidated the beauties of 
truth, and caused them to shine before the understand- 
ing with their native lustre. Accordingly, his very 
enemies, who were come from the Council on purpose to 
apprehend him, were astonished; the greatness of the 
subject, made, as it were, visible by the divine speaker, 
filled their understandings ; the warmth and tenderness 
with which he delivered himself penetrated their hearts; 
they felt new and uncommon emotions, and, being over- 
whelmed with the greatness of their admiration, were 
fixed in silence and astonishment : they condemned 
themselves for having undertaken the office, and soon 
returned to the rulers of Israel without performing it. 

If our Lord had pleaded for his life before the officers 
ot the Council who were sent to apprehend him, the 
success of his eloquence, even in that case, had been 
truly wonderful ; but in the case before us it surely was 
superior to all praise, for, in a discourse addressed to 
others, and even on a spiritual subject, it disarmed a 
band of inveterate enemies and made them his friends. 

Nor were the officers the only persons affected by this 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



221 



discourse ; for many others declared he must be one of the 
old prophets, and others that he was none other than the 
Messiah himself. Some, however, led away with the 
common mistake that he was born at Nazareth, asked, 
with disdain, if the Messiah was to come out of Galilee, 
and whether they would acknowledge a Galilean for the 
Messiah, when the Scriptures absolutely declared that 
he was to be born in Bethlehem, the native town of his 
father David. Many of the people, therefore, when 
they heard this saying, said. Of a truth this is the 
prophet. Others said. This is the Christ. But some 
said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee ? Hath not the 
Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, 
and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was ?" 
John vii. 40-42. 

Such were the dissensions on this subject, that some 
of his enemies, knowing that the officers were sent to 
apprehend him, threatened to lay hands on him ; but 
the Almighty would not suffer them to execute their 
wicked design : And some of them would have taken 
him ; but no man laid hands on him." John vii. 44. 

The officers now returned to the Council, and were 
asked why they had not brought Jesus of Nazareth. 
To whom the officers answered, Never man spake like 
this man." This reply enraged the Council, who re- 
viled them for presuming to entertain a favorable opin- 
ion of one whom they had pronounced an impostor. It 
is strange, said they, that you, who are not ignorant of 
our sentiments concerning this person, should entertain 
a favorable idea of him. Have any persons of rank, or 
any celebrated for their knowledge of the laws, believed 
on him ? Are not his followers the lower orders of the 



222 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



people, who are totally ignorant of all the prophecies 
concerning the Messiah ? The officers made no answer 
to the railing accusations of their masters. But Nico- 
demus, a member of the Council, arraigned their con- 
duct in a very poignant manner : Does our law," says 
he, '-^ condemn any man before he has been heard ?"* 
They had before condemned their officers for being igno- 
rant of the law, when it appeared they were themselves 
far more ignorant, in pretending to condemn a person 
before they had proved him guilty. They were acting 
directly contrary to the fundamental principles of the 
law of equity at the time they boasted of their profound 
knowledge of its precepts. 

Incensed at this reprimand of Nicodemus, they asked 
him, with an air of disdain and surprise, if he was also 
one of those mean persons who had joined together to 
support the pretences of a Galilean, though the Scrip- 
tures had plainly said that Bethlehem was the place of 
the Messiah's nativity ; adding that if he refused to 
listen to them he should soon be convinced that the 
great prophet mentioned by Moses was not to be born in 
Galilee. " Art thou also of Galilee ? Search and look; 
for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." John vii. 52. f 

^ This is the first time we hear of Nicodemus after his private inter- 
view with Jesus. John iii. 1-20. Here, after two years and a half, he 
appears in his seat in the Sanhedrin, confronting the injustice of that 
body, and all but confessing himself a disciple of the Son of God. The 
words of Jesus were not wholly lost upon him. A new element has en- 
tered the great Council of the nation, the element of faith and justice, and 
it breaks up its former unanimity in overbearing wrong. Here is a rally- 
ing point for others who are inclining to the right. Joseph of Arimathea 
at least supports him, and the Council breaks up in disorder. 

t The effects of partial knowledge (when the whole is necessary to a 
Bound judgment) are quite conspicuous in both parties of this learned 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



228 



Having made this reply to Nicodemus, the Council 
broke up, and Jesus, who knew their malicious inten- 
tions, retired to the Mount of Olives, where he spent 
the night with his disciples. 

Our blessed Lord, early the following morning, re- 
turned to the temple and again taught the people. The 
Scribes and Pharisees now determined to render him 
odious to the multitude, or obnoxious to the Roman 
governor, and therefore placed before him a woman who 
had been taken in the act of adultery, desiring his 
opinion what punishment she ought to suffer. This 
woman," said they to Jesus, ''was taken in adultery, in 
the very act. Now, Moses in the law commanded us 
that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou?" 
John viii. 4, 5. 

Had our Lord disapproved the sentence of the law, 
they would, doubtless, have represented him to the mul- 
titude as a person who contradicted Moses and favored 
adultery — which could not have failed of rendering him 
odious to the people. On the other hand, had he 
ordered her to be stoned, it would have afforded a 
plausible pretence for accusing him to the Roman 
governor as a person who stirred up the people to rebel- 
lion — the Romans having now taken the power of life 
and death into their own hands. 

But Jesus, who well knew their malicious intentions, 

body, on this occasion. The majority were right in the position that the 
Messiah must be born in Bethlehem, but wrong in the conclusion that 
Jesus was not born there. Perhaps the minority were not prepared at 
the time to prove it from the record of his birth. But when the majority 
declared that, " Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet," they must have for- 
gotten that Galilee was the birthplace of Jonah, or in the heat of the 
moment, wilfully ignored it. 



224 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



made no answer, but " stooped down, and with his 
finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them 
not." JohA viii. 6. They, however, still continued 
pressing him to give an answer ; and, at last, Jesus (in 
allusion to the law, which ordered that the hands of the 
witnesses by whose testimony an adulterer was con- 
victed should be the first upon him) said, ^^He that is 
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." 
Let those who are remarkably zealous for having justice 
executed upon others at least take care to purify them- 
selves from all heinous crimes. 

This reply had its desired effect. The hypocritical 
Scribes and Pharisees were convicted of sin by their own 
consciences, so that they immediately retired, fearing 
Jesus would have made their particular sins public. 
^'And they which heard it, being convicted by their 
own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the 
eldest, even unto the last." John viii. 9. The woman's 
accusers being all retired, Jesus told her that as no man 
had pronounced sentence of death upon her, neither 
would he pronounce it, but charged her to be very care- 
ful for the future to avoid the temptations which had in- 
duced her to commit so black a crime. 

The wisdom, knowledge, and power of our blessed 
Saviour were eminently displayed on this occasion : his 
wisdom, in defending himself against the malicious at- 
tempts of his enemies ; his knowledge, in discovering 
the secrets of their hearts; and his power, in making 
use of their own consciences to render their artful inten- 
tions abortive. 

It was therefore with remarkable propriety that the 
great Kedeemer of mankind now called himself the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



225 



" light of the world :" as if he had said, I am the spirit- 
ual sun, that dispels the darkness of ignorance and 
superstition in which the minds of men are immersed, 
and discovers the path that leads to eternal life ; nor 
shall any who follow me ever be involved in darkness. 
" I am the light of the world : he that followeth me 
shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of 
life." John viii. 12. 

This assertion of our Lord highly provoked the Phari- 
sees, who told him he must be a deceiver, because he 
boasted of himself To which the great Kedeemer of 
mankind replied : You are not to imagine that I called 
myself the light of the w^orld, from a principle of pride 
and falsehood : that title justly belongs to me ; nor 
would you yourselves refuse to acknowledge it, did you 
know from what authority I received my commission, 
and to whom, when I have executed it, I must return. 
But of these things ye are totally ignorant, and therefore 
judge according to outward appearance, and condemn 
me because I do not destroy those who oppose me, as 
you vainly think the Messiah will do those who shall 
refuse to submit to his authority. But the design of 
the Messiah's coming is very different from your mista- 
ken notions ; he is not come to destroy, but to save, the 
children of men. Though I bear record of myself, yet 
my record is true ; for I know whence I came, and 
whither I go ; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and 
whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh : I judge no man." 
John viii. 14, 15. He added that, if he should condemn 
any person for unbelief, the condemnation would be just, 
because his mission was true, being confirmed by his own 
testimony and that of his Almighty Father, the God of 



226 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



J acob, by whose authority, and agreeably to whose will, 
all his sentences would be passed j "And yet if I judge, 
rny judgment is true ; for I am not alone, but I and the 
Father that sent me." John viii. 16. 

Having thus asserted the divinity of his mission, and 
shown that his judgment was just, he proceeded to inform 
them that his Father himself bare witness to the truth 
of his mission. You cannot, said he, justly complain, 
even if I should punish you for your unbelief, because 
you are, by your own laws, commanded to believe the 
testimony of two witnesses that my mission evidently is 
true. For the actions of my life, which are perfectly 
agreeable to the character of a messenger from Heaven, 
bear sufficient witness of me ; and the Father, by the 
miracles he has enabled me to perform, beareth witness 
of me ; ye are therefore altogether culpable in objecting 
to my mission. ^^It is also written in your law that the 
testimony of two men is true. I am one that beareth 
witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth 
witness of me." John viii. 17, 18. 

The Jews then asked him, Where is thy Father, the 
other witness to whom thou appealest ? J esus replied. 
Your conduct sufficiently demonstrates that ye are 
strangers both to me and my Father ; for, had ye known 
who I am, ye must have also known who it is I call my 
Father ; had ye been convinced that I am the Messiah, 
ye must have also been convinced that the Father is no 
other than that Omnipotent Being who created and up- 
holds all things by the word of his power. Then said 
they unto him, "Where is thy Father? Jesus answered. 
Ye neither know me, nor my Father : if ye had known 
me, ye should have known my Father also." John 
viii. 19. 



LIFE OF CHKIST. 



227 



This discourse, the evangelist tells us, was held in the 
treasury, a court of the temple where the chests were 
placed for receiving the offerings of all those who came 
to worship in the temple, and therefore must have been 
a place of great resort, being frequented by all, even the 
priests and rulers. But, notwithstanding the public 
manner in which our blessed Saviour now asserted his 
claim to the character of the Messiah, no man attempted 
to seize him — Providence not suffering them to put their 
malicious designs in execution, because his hour, or the 
time of his suffering, was not yet come. 

The debate being ended, Jesus again repeated what 
he had before told them : namely, that he should shortly 
depart from them, and that they should then seek him, 
but not be able to find him. ^'1 go my way, and ye 
shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go 
ye cannot come." John viii. 21. As if he had said: 
After my ascension into heaven,' when the Roman armies 
shall spread horror and desolation in every corner of the 
land, ye shall then earnestly wish for the coming of the 
Messiah, in expectation of being delivered by his power- 
ful arm from your cruel enemy ; but ye shall then find 
your mistake ; ye shall die in your sins, and be forever 
excluded from the mansions of happiness. 

The Jews by no means comprehended the departure 
of which our Lord told them. They even fancied he 
would destroy himself, because they thought the only 
retreat where they could not find him was the gloomy 
habitation of the grave. To which the blessed Jesus 
replied. Your vile insinuation discovers at once the 
wickedness of your hearts and the baseness of your ori- 
ginal. Ye are from the earth, and therefore subject to 



228 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



all the evil passions that infect human nature, the 
source of temptation to every sin. Ye therefore must 
believe that I am the bread of life, the heavenly manna, 
the light of the world, the true Messiah, if ye are desi- 
rous of being cleansed from those pollutions which flow 
from your earthly origin ; but if you still continue in 
your unbelief you shall die in your sins. 

The Jews now, in order to vindicate themselves, de- 
manded what sort of a person he pretended to be. To 
which Jesus answered : Even the same that I said 
unto you from the beginning," that is, at the beginning 
of this discourse, 'Hhe light of the world;" adding, "I 
have many things to say, and to judge of you; but he 
that sent me is true ; and I speak to the world those 
things which I have heard of him." John viii. 26. 

This discourse, however plain it may appear, was not 
understood by the perverse J ews : they did not perceive 
that he spake to them of the Father. But J esus told 
them, that when they crucified him, they would be con^ 
vinced by the miracles accompanying and following that 
awful hour — the resurrection from the dead, the effusion 
of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, and the destruction 
of the Jewish nation — who he was, and the Father that 
sent him. " When ye have lifted up the Son of man, 
then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing 
of myself ; but as my Father hath taught me I speak 
these things." John viii. 28. 

He added that, though he should be crucified as a 
malefactor, that punishment would not be inflicted on 
him as a consequence of being deserted by his Father ; 
because he would never leave him in any period of his 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



229 



sufferings, or even at the hour of his death, as he always 
acted agreeably to his will. 

These words induced many of the people to believe 
him to be the Messiah. Perhaps by lifting him up they 
did not understand his crucifixion, but his ascension to 
the throne of David ; and hence supposed that he now 
entertained sentiments worthy of the Messiah, and were 
therefore very ready to acknowledge him as such and 
believe the doctrine he had delivered concerning his 
mission. But Jesus told them that if they persevered 
in the belief and practice of his word they should in 
reality become his disciples, have a title to that honora- 
ble appellation, be fully instructed in every doctrine of 
the gospel, and forever freed from the slavery of sin and 
its consequences. If ye continue in my word, then 
are ye my disciples indeed ; and ye shall know the 
truth, and the truth shall make you free." John viii. 
31, 32. 

The Jews, on hearing him mention that they should 
be made free, answered, " We be Abraham's seed, and 
were never in bondage to any man." This assertion, if 
taken literally, was absolutely false, the whole nation 
at that very time being in bondage to the Romans ; nor 
were their ancestors any strangers to slavery, having 
severely felt the hand of tyranny in Egypt, Assyria, 
and Babylon. The expression, therefore, according to 
some writers, must be taken in a metaphorical sense, to 
signify spiritual bondage : it was a freedom by truth, a 
freedom in respect of religion, which they now asserted. 
They meant that they were the descendants of illustrious 
ancestors, and, during the worst of times, had preserved 
sentiments in religion and government worthy the pos- 



230 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



terity of Abraham ; nor had the hottest persecution of 
the Assyrian kings been able to compel them to embrace 
the religion of the heathen.* In respect of truth, We 
were never in bondage to any man : how sayest thou. 
Ye shall be made free ?" 

In answer to this question, Jesus told them that those 
who gave themselves up to the practice of sin and the 
gratification of their sinful appetites were absolute slaves; 
and how far they might deserve that appellation it was 
incumbent on them to consider. Yerily, verily, I say 
unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of 
sin." And as a slave cannot be assured of the contin- 
uance of his master's favor, or be certain of abiding con- 
tinually in the family, so my Father can, when he 
pleases, discard such habitual sinners, and deprive you 
of the external economy of religion, of which you so 
highly boast, as you have, through sin, rendered your- 
selves bondmen to his justice. If ye are desirous of be- 
coming the children of God, and of remaining forever in 
his iamily, you must submit to the authority of his Son 
and embrace his doctrine, which will induce him to 
adopt you as co-heirs with himself It is he only that 
can make you free indeed, and place you in the city of 
the heavenly Jerusalem, without the least danger of 

* The general phrase, "Assyrian Kings," here includes Nebuchadnez- 
zar, King of Babylon, Darius the Mede, and Antiochus Epiphanees, King 
of Syria, all of whom, at different times, held dominion over the territory 
of ancient Assyria, and by persecuting edicts put the fidelity of the J ews 
to the true God to the extreme limit of mortal trial. Daniel and his 
three friends were delivered from death only by special miracle, designed 
for the conviction of the heathen; but multitudes, in the ti]ne of the Mac- 
cabees, cheerfully underwent torture and death for the sake of their re- 
ligion. Heb. xi. 33-38. 



i 

i 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 231 

being removed. I well know that you are, in a natural 
sense, the seed of Abraham, but, in a moral one, the 
offspring of Satan ; for many of you are desirous of de- 
stroying me, because I enjoy a greater degree of sanctity 
than you are willing to acquire. I know that ye are 
Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my 
word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have 
seen with my Father ; and je do that which you have 
seen with your father. They answered and said unto 
him, Abraham is our father." John viii. 37-39. 

Notwithstanding their claim to immediate descent 
from the father of the faithful, Jesus told them that if 
they were the spiritual progeny of Abraham they would 
resemble that great and good man in his righteousness, 
and therefore, instead of endeavoring to take away the 
life of a person who came with a revelation from God, 
they would believe on him, in imitation of Abraham, 
who was justly styled the father of the faithful, and the 
friend of God. ^^If ye were Abraham's children, ye 
would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill 
me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have 
heard of God : this did not Abraham." John viii. 39, 40 

The Jews, incensed at our Lord, rushed on him and 
attempted to stone him; but Jesus, by miraculously 
concealing himself, passed unhurt through the crowd, 
and retired out of the temple. With what patience did 
our blessed Redeemer bear, and with what meekness 
of wisdom" did he answer, the most virulent and oppro- 
brious language ! And shall we too keenly resent the 
reflections that are thrown upon us ? May but our 
consciences witness for us, and we need not fear all that 
are against us. 



232 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

OUR LORD CONTINUES TO WORK MIRACLES IN CONFIRMATION 
OF HIS MISSION AND DOCTRINE — CALLS FORTH AND SENDS 
OUT SEVENTY DISCIPLES — PREACHES TO THE PEOPLE OF 
JUDEA, BY WAY OF PARABLE. 

The great Preacher of Israel, having defeated the 
cruel designs of the obstinate Jews, in passing on his 
way, saw a man who had been blind from his birth. 
The sight of so affecting an object could not fail to excite 
the compassion of the benevolent Saviour of mankind. 
Nor could the affronts and indignities he had just re- 
ceived from the Jews hinder him from 'Svorking the 
works of him that sent him," and dispensing blessings 
on that rebellious and ungrateful nation. Accordingly, 
he beheld this poor blind man, not with a transient 
view, but fixed on him the eyes of pity and presented 
him with the riches of his adorable love. 

The disciples, observing the affectionate regard of 
their Master to this object of compassion, and probably 
imagining that he was going to extend his usual mercy 
to this unfortunate object, asked their Master whether 
his blindness was occasioned by his own sin, or the sin 
of his parents. They had often heard their Master say 
that afflictions were commonly the punishment of par- 
ticular sins, and had learned, from the law of Moses, 
that sin was the fruitful source of evil, and that the 
Lord punished the iniquities of the fathers upon the 
children. Their Master kindly answered that neither 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



233 



his own* nor the sins of the parents were the immediate 
cause of this peculiar affliction, but that he was born 
blind ^Hhat the works of God should be made manifest 
in him," particularly his sovereignty in bringing him 
blind into the world, his power in conferring the faculty 
of sight upon him, and his goodness in bearing witness 
to the doctrine by which men are to be saved. 

We may learn, by this pertinent reply of the Saviour 
of the world, that a curious inquiry into the cause of 

* The hypothesis of the pre-existence, fall, and transmigration of souls, 
is of heathen origin, of great antiquity, and of very wide diffusion. It 
probably sprang up in Egypt, as it is found in the hieroglyphic " Book of 
the Dead," laid on the breasts of mummies, embalmed (according to Mr. 
Gliddon) four thousand years ago, or before the age of Abraham. Thence 
it spread into Europe and into Asia, where it forms at this day a leading 
element in the doctrine of Buddhism. 

As a philosophical theory to account for the origin of evil it has little 
valuCj or rather none whatever, though a few modern thinkers in the 
Christian church have endeavored to revive it. For, 1. It is unnecessary. 
2. It is but a supposition, unsupported by any positive facts. 3. It merely 
removes the difficulties farther back without relieving them. 4. It gen- 
erates a mass of superstition, by an unavoidable necessity. 5. It sets 
aside or contradicts the plain teachings of Scripture. 6. No mind, trained 
in the truth of Divine Revelation, and accustomed to revere it as of 
supreme authority, can adopt this theory without loosening the founda- 
tions of evangelical faith. 

Yet it seems, from the form of the inquiry proposed by the disciples of 
Jesus in the case of the blind man, that this heathen doctrine was not 
entirely unknown to them, and that it blended in their imagination with 
a doctrine more Scriptural — the connection of children with their parents. 
The answer of our Lord denies altogether the heathen doctrine, and mer- 
cifully limits the appHcation of the true doctrine to obvious and ascertain- 
able causes. What a world of mischief and misery is thus swept away ! 
Moreover, by teaching us to regard the evils of birth not merely as de- 
plorable accidents, but as special elements of human trial and occasions 
of developing new forms of virtue and of Divine beneficence, it forms and 
nourishes the habit of searching for the hidden good entwined with the 
tangled wf^ of human life. 



234 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



afflictions in other men may be safely avoided, and that 
we ought to suppose every calamity subservient to the 
glory of Omnipotence— never imputing to their personal 
sins whatever miseries we behold in others, lest, like 
the disciples in the present case, we assign to sin what 
owes its origin to the glory of our Maker. 

Having assigned the cause of this person's blindness, 
namely, " that the works of God should be made mani- 
fest in him," Jesus added, " I must work the works of 
him that sent me while it is day : the night cometh 
when no man can work," John ix. 4 ; intimating to his 
disciples, and all the sons of men, his unwearied labor 
in the work of his Almighty Father. In this he was 
employed day and night during the time of his sojourn- 
ing in the flesh. To this alone he directed all his 
thoughts and all his intentions. This he esteemed even 
as his meat and drink; and for this he suffered the 
neglect of his ordinary food, that he might finish the 
blessed, the benevolent work of human salvation — a 
work to accomplish which he left the courts of heaven, 
and, during the execution of it, went about doing good. 

It was now the Sabbath day, and the blessed Jesus 
told his disciples that they need not be surprised to see 
him work miracles of that kind on the Sabbath day. 
For, though they should imagine that he might defer 
them till the day of rest was over, his time on earth 
was so short that it was necessary for him to embrace 
every opportunity that offered of working miracles. 
Perhaps he chose to perform this work on the Sabbath 
because he knew the Pharisees would, for that reason, 
inquire into it with the utmost attention, and con- 
sequently render it more generally known. But, how- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



235 



ever this be, our blessed Saviour, who was now going 
to confer sight on one that was born blind, took occasion 
from thence to speak of himself as one appointed to give 
light also to the minds of men involved in darkness: 

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the 
world." John ix. 5. 

Having declared the salutary design of his coming 
into the world, he spat on the ground, and made clay 
of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man 
with the clay, and said unto him. Go, wash in the pool 
of Siloam* (which is, by interpretation. Sent). He 
went his way, therefore, and washed, and came seeing." 
John ix. 6, 7. 

This miraculous operation could not fail of producing 
a general curiosity and surprise : it induced those who 
had seen this blind man in his dark and deplorable con- 
dition to be very particular in their inquiries into the 
means of so singular a miracle. It was doubtless the 
subject of general conversation, and, it is natural to 

* The Pool of Siloam (or Shiloh) is situated at the base of the hill 
Ophel, a spur of Mount Moriah on the southeast of Jerusalem, It is now 
an artificial stone reservoir, fifty-three feet long, eighteen broad, and nine- 
teen deep. Steps descend into it to the surface of the water, which is 
allowed to run off when three or four feet from the bottom. It is fed by 
the fountain of the same name, issuing from the cliflf above the pool. The 
water flows softly, is sweet and clear, and is used for washing clothes, and 
other public purposes. 

The use of the clay on this occasion was so singular, that we naturally 
ask why Jesus should resort to it, instead of curing him with a word. It 
had several advantages : 1. It made a special trial for the man's faith and 
obedience in going to the pool to wash. 2. It attracted general attention 
to his extraordinary case. 3. It allowed Jesus opportunity to retire from 
the excited crowd. 4. It added special force to the blind man's subse- 
quent testimonv to Jesus, whom he heard and felt, but had not yel 
Been. 



236 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



think, should also have proved the means of a general 
conversation ; but, as it too frequently happens, a per- 
verse curiosity prevented its salutary effects upon their 
souls. Unbelief, and hardness of heart, led some of them 
even to doubt of the plainest fact — a fact the most evi- 
dent and indisputable, and plainly the work of the 
Divinity — and others, to persecute at once both th.e 
object and the author of it ! The neighbors therefore, 
and they which before had seen him that he was blind, 
said. Is not this he that sat and begged ? Some said. 
This is he ; others said. He is like him ; but he said, I 
am he." John ix. 8, 9. The man, transported with 
gratitude and joy, and perceiving his neighbors to doubt 
the identity of his person, proclaimed himself to be the 
very same whom they lately saw begging in total dark- 
ness. I am he thus wonderfully blest with sight by 
the peculiar mercy of the Almighty ! I am he who 
was blind from my birth, whom ye have all seen and 
many relieved in my miserable distress ! I am he who 
was, even from my mother's womb, involved in total 
darkness, but now enjoy the enlivening light of day. 

So ingenuous an acknowledgment of the fact excited 
their curiosity to know how this admirable effect was 
produced. ^'How were thine eyes opened?" To this 
question he readily replied, " A man that is called Jesus 
made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me. 
Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash ; and I went and 
washed, and I received sight." John ix. 11. They 
then asked him where the person was who had per- 
formed so stupendous a work. To which the man 
answered, ^'I know not;" for Jesus had retired while 
the man went to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam — 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



237 



probably to avoid the applauses which would naturally 
have been given him, and which, we see through the 
whole gospel, he generally studied to avoid. 

The neighbors, either stimulated by envy or excited 
by a desire of having the truth of this extraordinary 
event searched to the bottom, brought the man before 
the Council, as the proper judges of this affair. Accord- 
ingly, he was no sooner placed before the assembly than 
the Pharisees began to question him, how he had re- 
covered his sight." Not daunted by this awful assembly, 
though terrible to a man of his mean circumstances, he 
boldly answered, " He put clay on mine eyes, and I 
washed, and do see." John ix. 15. 

On hearing this account of the miracle, the Pharisees 
declared that the author of it must be an impostor, be- 
cause he had, by performing of it, violated the Sabbath 
day. But others, more candid in their way of thinking, 
gave it as their opinion that no deceiver could possibly 
work a miracle of that kind, because it was too great 
and beneficial for an evil being to have either the inclina- 
tion or power to perform. 

The court being thus divided in their opinions with 
regard to the character of Jesus, they asked the man 
himself what he thought of the person who had con- 
ferred on him the blessing of sight. To which he plainly 
and boldly answered, " He is a prophet." But the Jews, 
wanting to prove the whole a cheat, started another 
objection, namely, that this person was not born blind, 
though all his neighbors had really testified to the truth 
of it. Accordingly, they called his parents, and asked 
them whether he was their son, if he had been born blind, 
and by what means he had obtained his sight. To which 



238 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



they answered that he was truly their son, and had been 
born blind ; but with regard to the manner in which he 
received his sight, and the person who had conferred it 
on him, they could give no information : their son was 
of age, and he should answer for himself " These 
words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews ; 
for the Jew^s had agreed already that if any man did 
confess that he was Christ he should be put out of the 
synagogue." John ix. 22. 

The seventy disciples, having received their instruc- 
tions, and the power of working miracles, from the 
Messiah, departed to execute their important commission 
in the cities and villages of Judea and Perea. And, 
after visiting the several places, publishing the glad 
tidings of salvation, and working many miracles in con- 
firmation of tKeir mission, they returned to their Master 
with great joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject 
unto us through thy name !" 

From this appeal, it seems that they knew not the 
extent of their delegated power, and were pleasingly 
surprised to find the apostate spirits trembling at their 
command. To which their great Master replied, '^I 
beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." You will 
be no longer astonished that the devils are subject to 
the power I have given you, when I tell you their prince 
is not able to stand before me ; and accordingly, when I 
first put on the vail of human nature, to destroy him 
and his works, I saw him, with the swiftness of the 
lightning's flash, fall from heaven : adding, in order to 
increase their joy, and prove that he had really cast 
Satan down from the seat of heaven, that he would 
increase their power. Behold," says he, " I give unto 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



239 



you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over 
all the power of the enemy ; and nothing shall by any 
means hurt you." Luke x. 19. 

Lest they should exult beyond measure in the honor 
thus conferred on them, which was merely temporary, 
our Lord adds, " Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, 
that the spirits are subject unto you ; but rather rejoice 
because your names are written in heaven." Luke x. 20. 

Nor could the blessed Jesus reflect on the unsearchable 
wisdom and goodness of the divine dispensations to 
mankind, without feeling extraordinary joy ; so that his 
beneficent heart overflowed with strains of gratitude ; 

I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 
that thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru- 
dent, and hast revealed them unto babes : even so, 
Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." Luke x. 21. 

When the seventy disciples had executed their com- 
mission, Jesus was met in the way by a certain lawyer, 
or scribe, who, being desirous of knowing whether the 
doctrines preached by Jesus were the same with those 
before delivered by Moses, asked him. What he should 
do to inherit eternal life ? It is really amazing that any 
mortal should ask a question like this with a view to 
tempt, not to be instructed. This was, however, the 
case ; but the blessed Jesus, though no stranger to the 
most secret thoughts of the heart, did not reply, as he 
had before done to the Pharisees, " Why temp test thou 
me, thou hypocrite ?" He turned the scribe's weapons 
against himself: What, says he, is written in the law, 
of which thou professest thyself a teacher? ''How 
readest thou ?" That law will teach thee what thou 
must do, and happy will it be for thee if thou compliest 



240 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



with its precepts. The scribe answered. It is there 
written, ^^Thou shalt love the Lord thy God w^ith all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor as 
thyself." Luke X. 27. 

Our Lord then shows the strength and spirituality of 
the law : Thou hast answered right : this do, and thou 
shalt live." Perform these commands, and thou hast 
fulfilled the duties of an Israelite; for on these two 
commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

Where is the man that can fulfil the law? The 
lawyer, who in all probability expected no such answer, 
being conscious of his defects, and consequently of the 
impossibility of obtaining eternal life on those conditions, 
was willing, as the sacred historian informs us, "to 
justify himself was willing to stifle the rising sugges- 
tions of his own conscience, and, at the same time, to 
make a show of his own devotion ; and, in order to do 
this, he said to Jesus, " And who is my neighbor ?" — a 
question very likely to be asked by a bigoted Jew, whose 
narrow notions led him to despise all who were not of 
his own fold — all who were not the natural descendants 
of his father Abraham. 

To remove their obstinate attachment to their own 
principles, open their hearts to a more generous and 
noble way of thinking, and show them the only founda- 
tion of true love, and the extensive relation they and all 
mankind stand in to each other, our Saviour delivered 
the following most beautiful and instructive parable : 

A certain person, in his journey from Jerusalem to 
Jericho,* had the misfortune to fall into the hands of 

* The city of Jericho lay in the deep valley of the Jordan, eighteen 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



241 



robbers, wlio, not content with taking his money, stripped 
him of his raiment, beat him in a deplorable manner, 
and left him for dead. While he continued in this 
miserable condition, utterly incapable of assisting him- 
self, a certain priest happened to travel the same road, 
and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came 
and looked on him, and passed by on the other side." 
So little compassion had these ministers of religion for a 
brother in the most deplorable circumstances of distress, 
that they continued their journey, without offering to 
assist so miserable an object, notwithstanding their sacred 
characters obliged them to perform, on every occasion, 
the tender offices of charity and compassion. It was a 
brother, a descendant of Abraham, in distress, and there- 
fore, these hypocrites could offer no reasons to palliate 
their inhumanity. Their stony hearts could behold the 
affecting object of an unfortunate Israelite, lying on the 
road naked and cruelly wounded, without being the 
least affected with his distress. 



miles northeast from Jerusalem. Its climate is tropical, and hence it was 
called " the city of palm trees." Between it and the river lay " the plain 
of Jericho," seven miles wide, and anciently very fruitful. Behind it, to 
the north and west, rose up a chain of steep and lofty hills, one of which, 
Quarantana, is from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet high, and 
takes its name from being supposed to be the scene of our Lord's forty 
days' fast and temptation. 

The road from J ericho to Jerusalem is singularly wild, steep, and toil- 
some, as it ascends about three thousand feet in eighteen miles ; and winds 
among desolate hills and deep ravines, volcanic rocks, narrow defiles, and 
gloomy caverns. These places have been, in ancient as well as in modern 
times, the haunts of robbers ; so that few venture to traverse the road 
except in caravans, or with a military guard. This fact gives a singular 
force to the parable of the Good Samaritan. 
16 



242 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Though these teachers of religion were hypocrites, and 
wholly destitute of grace and charity, compassion glowed 
in the heart of a Samaritan, who, coming to the spot 
where this helpless object lay, ran to him ; and though 
he found him to be a person of a different nation, and 
one who professed a religion opposite to his own, yet the 
hatred which had been instilled into his mind from his 
earliest years, and every objection arising from the 
animosity subsisting between the Jews and Samaritans, 
were immediately silenced by the tender sensations of 
pity awakened by the sight of such complicated distress : 
his bowels yearned toward the miserable object ; though 
a J ew, he flew to him, and assisted him in the most 
tender manner.* 

It was the custom in these Eastern countries for trav- 
ellers to carry their provision with them ; so that this 
compassionate Samaritan was enabled, though in the 
desert, to give the wounded man a little wine to recruit 
his spirits. He also bound up his wounds, pouring into 
them wine and oil, placed him on his own beast, and 
walked himself on foot to support him. In this manner 
he conducted him to an inn, took care of him during 
the night, and in tlie morning, when business called him 
to pursue his journey, recommended him to the care of 
the host, left what money he could spare, and desired 
that nothing might be denied him ; for whatever was 
expended he would repay at his return. 

Having finished the parable, Jesus turned himself to 

* If we bear in mind that our Lord, only a short time before, had been 
very ill treated in a Samaritan village, because his face was set toward Jeru- 
salem, we cannot fail to admire the kindness to that despised people which 
breathes through this parable, and has made the history of the " Good 
Samaritan" immortal. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



243 



the lawyer, and asked him, Which now of these three, 
thinkest thou, was neighbor to him that fell among 
thieves ?" The lawyer, struck with the truth and evi- 
dence of the case, replied, without the least hesitation. 
He that showed mercy unto him." Upon which Jesus 
replied, Go, and do thou likewise." Perform all the 
good offices in thy power, extend thy kindness to every 
one who stands in need of thy assistance, whether he 
be an Israelite, a heathen, or a Samaritan. Consider 
every man as thy neighbor in respect to works of charity, 
and make no inquiry with regard to his country or reli- 
gion, but with regard to his circumstances. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE HUMBLE JESUS RESIDES WITH MARTHA AND MARY, TWO 

OBSCURE WOMEN OF BETHANY IMPROVES A CIRCUMSTANCE 

WHICH OCCURRED AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION PRE- 
SCRIBES A MODE OF PRAYER TO HIS DISCIPLES AND FUTURE 
FOLLOWERS REVISITS SOME OF THE PHARISAICAL TRIBE. 

The Feast of Dedication* approaching, Jesus turned 
his course toward Jerusalem, and in the evening came 

* Besides the three annual religions festivals — the Passover, Pentecost, 
and the Feast of "^rabernacles — established by divine authority at the be- 
ginning of theirnational existence, the Jews observed two others of later 
origin, in commemoration of two great events in their national history. 
These were the feasts of Purim (or Lots), which dates from the year of 
their deliverance from the deadly plots of Haraan (Esther ix. 17-32) ; and 
the Feast of Dedication, which dates from the cleansing and restoration of 



V 



244 LIFE OF CHEIST. 

to the house of Martha and Mary, the sisters of Laza- 
rus, at Bethany.* Martha was desirous of expressing 
her regard for the divine guest by providing for him 
and his disciples the best entertainment in her power. 
But her sister, who was of a more contemplative dispo- 
sition, sat at the feet of Jesus, listening with the utmost 
attention to his doctrine ; for the great Kedeemer of 
mankind never omitted any opportunity of declaring 
the gracious offers of the Almighty and his unspeakable 
love for the children of men. Martha, being greatly 
fatigued with the burden of the service, complained to 
Jesus of the little care Mary took to assist her. Lord, 
dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve 
alone ? Bid her therefore that she help me." Luke x. 40. 

But Martha's oJSiciousness incurred our Lord's reproof, 
who commended Mary for her attentive application to 
his doctrine : " Martha, Martha, thou art careful and 
troubled about many things : but one thing is needful : 
and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not 
be taken away from her."-}- Luke x. 41. 

the Temple, after its three years of pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes, 
B. C. 164. 

The Feast of Purim was celebrated in March, the Feast of Dedication in 
December, of our reckoning. The former was held for two days only ; the 
latter for eight. The celebration of these feasts, though not obhgatory, like 
those of divine institution, drew together vast crowds of the people to the 
Temple at Jerusalem, and furnished a fitting occasion for the Kedeemer 
to instruct them in the great truths of salvation. 

* Bethany was a small village about two miles from Jerusalem, on the 
eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho. 

Nothing in this passage apprises us that this was the Saviour's first 
visit to this interesting family, as is generally supposed. On the contrary, 
the language of the evangelist John indicates a friendship of long stand- 
ing. John xi. 5. 

t Both Martha and Mary appear to have been women of sincere piety ; 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



245 



When Jesus repaired to Jerusalem to celebrate the 
Feast of Dedication, he was informed that the beggar he 
had restored to sight had been, by the Council, cast out 
of the synagogue."^ This information excited the pity 
of the Son of God ; and he resolved to make him full 
amends for the injury he had suffered. It was not long 
before he met the suffering person, and said to him. 
Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? He answered 
and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him ? 
Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and 
it is he that talketh with thee. And he said. Lord, I 
believe. And he worshipped him." John ix. 35. 

We have hinted before that the beggar was thoroughly 
convinced the person who opened his eyes was a mes- 
senger from heaven. It is therefore no wonder that, 
as soon as he knew Jesus was the person who had per- 
formed so great a w^ork, he readily believed him to be 
the Son of God. 

Our Saviour, having thus given the poor man ample 

but in this case our Saviour's reproof is too emphatic to leave a doubt of 
his displeasure at her anxious preparations for his entertainment. In 
comparison with her sister she was worldly-minded. Jesus would have been 
far better pleased with a simple meal, and more elevated spiritual tastes 
in her soul. This is the very point of the passage, and it is of every-day 
application. "The good part" here, is increase of piety by closer com- 
munion with Christ, and this cannot be had unless we redeem the time 
from worldly cares. 

^ The cure of this blind man was in October, on the last day of the 
Feast of Tabernacles. It seems a long time to suppose that Jesus did not 
make himself known to him until the Feast of Dedication, three months 
after. We rather incline to believe that these events and discourses 
belong to the day of the cure ; and this seema to be the opinion of the 
best critics, as Olshausen and others. The miraculous escape of Jesus, 
and the more marvellous cure of the man born blind, diverted for the 
time the outbreak of fury that would have taken the life of the Redeemer 



246 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



proof of his Messiahship, directed his discourse to the 
people and said unto them, '^For judgment I am come 
into this world ; that they which see not might see, and 
that they which see might be made blind." John ix. 39. 
The meaning of our Saviour, though he alluded to the 
blind man, was spiritual. He did not intend to repre- 
sent the design of his coming, but the effect it would 
have on the minds of men; as it would demonstrate 
what character and disposition every person possessed. 
The humble, the docile, and the honest, though they 
were immersed in the night of darkness with regard to 
religion and the knowledge of the Scriptures, should be 
enlightened by his coming, as the blind man had enjoyed 
the invaluable gift of sight from his hands ; but those 
who were wise, learned, and enlightened in their own 
opinion, should appear in their true character, absolutely 
ignorant, foolish, and blind. 

The Pharisees who happened to be present when he 
spake these words to the people, imagined that he in- 
tended to throw a reflection on their sect, which the 
common people, from their skill in the law, held in 
great veneration. Accordingly, they asked him, with 
disdain, Are we blind also ?" Dost thou place us, who 
are teachers, and have taken such pains to acquire the 
knowledge of the Scriptures, on a level with the vulgar ? 
To which Jesus answered, ^^If ye were blind, ye should 
have no sin : but now ye say, We see ; therefore your 
sin remaineth." If ye had not enjoyed the faculties 
and opportunities of discerning the proofs of my mission, 
you might have been considered as blind, but as ye are 
superior to the vulgar in point of learning, and at the 
same time, your hearts averse from acknowledging the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



247 



truth, your enlightened understanding will only aggra- 
vate your guilt. 

Having condemned the obstinacy and prejudice of the 
sect in rejecting the most evident tokens of the divinity 
of his mission, he continued the reproof, by describing 
the character of a true and false teacher. It was our 
Lord's custom always to allude to objects before him ; 
and, being now in the outer courts of the temple, near 
the sheep, which were there exposed to sale for sacri- 
fice, he compared the teachers among the Jews to shep- 
herds, and the people to sheep — a metaphor often used 
by the old prophets. He considered two kinds of bad 
shepherds, or teachers — the one, who, instead of enter- 
ing in by the door to lead the flocks to the richest pas- 
tures, entered some other way, with an intention only 
to kill, to steal, and to destroy ; the other, who, though 
they entered by the door to feed their flocks, with the 
dispositions of hirelings, yet when the wolf appeared 
they deserted the sheep, having no love for any but them- 
selves. By the former he plainly alluded to the Phari- 
sees, who had cast the man born blind out of the 
synagogue for no other reason than because he Avould 
not act contrary to the dictates of his conscience and 
agree with them in declaring Jesus to be an impostor.* 
But, though they had cast him out of their church, 
Christ received him into his, which is the true church, 

* There were many synagogues in Jerusalem (forty, it is said), but they 
were all under the general care and government of the Sanhcdrin. 
Hence, exclusion from one implied exclusion from all, as they were sub- 
ject to a general law throughout Palestine, if not beyond its boundaries. 
When Saul of Tarsus went to Damascus as a persecutor, he took letters 
from the high priests at Jerusalem, though Damascus was beyond the 
limits of Palestine. 



248 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the spiritual enclosure, where the sheep go in and out 
and find pasture. 

To illustrate the allusion, it should be observed that 
the sheep which were brought to be sold were enclosed 
in little folds, within the outer court of the temple ; so 
that the shepherd himself could not enter till the porter 
had opened the door. And from this circumstance the 
following parabolical discourse may be easily understood : 

Yerily, verily, I say unto you. He .that entereth not 
by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some 
other way, the same is a thief and a robber." John 
X. 1. Believe me, that whosoever, in any age of the 
church, assumed the office of a teacher, without a com- 
mission from me, was a thief and a robber; and in the 
present age he is no better who assumes that office with- 
out my commission, and particularly without believing 
on me. But he that entereth in by the door is the 
shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth ; 
and the sheep hear his voice ; and he calleth his own 
sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he 
putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them, and 
the sheep follow him ; for they know his voice." John 
X. 2-4. 

The doctrine here inculcated is, that good men are 
obedient to the instructions of true and faithful teachers, 
who, in every case, show them their duty with the 
greatest plainness, not concealing it because it may be 
disagreeable to their inclinations. 

The Feast of Dedication being now over, Jesus de- 
parted from Jerusalem, and retired into the parts of 
Perea beyond Jordan.''' Here his ministry was attended 



* Perea was that lar^^e district east of the river Jordan, which was origi 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



249 



with great success ; for the inhabitants of the country, 
remembering what had been told them by John the 
Baptist concerning Jesus, and being sensible that the 
doctrine and miracles of our blessed Saviour were fully 
equal to what the Baptist had foretold, firmly believed 
him to be the Messiah. 

According to this supposition, which seems to be the 
most agreeable to reason, the inhabitants of these coun- 
tries enjoyed the doctrines and miracles of the Son of 
God for a very considerable time. But, however this 
may be, the evangelist tells us that while he was execu- 
ting his ministry beyond Jordan he happened to pray 
publicly, with such fervency that one of his disciples, 
who was exceedingly affected both with the matter and 
manner of his address, begged he would teach them to 
pray. And it came to pass, that as he was praying 
in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples 
said unto him. Lord teach us to pray, as John also 
taught his disciples. And he said unto them. When ye 
pray, say. Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed 
be thy name : Thy kingdom come : Thy will be done, 
as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our 
daily bread ; and forgive us our sins ; for we also forgive 



nally allotted to the tribes of Reuben and G^d, and the half tribe of 
Manasseh. For three hundred years before the Assyrian captivity, it was 
extended by conquest eastward to the very banks of the Euphrates — an 
extreme breadth of more than a hundred miles. 1 Chron. v. 10-22, 

The boundaries of Perea in our Saviour's time are not easily defined, 
as the vast region ''beyond Jordan," as it was termed, was broken up into 
several divisions, under different jurisdictions, from Mount Hermon on 
the north to Mount Seir on the south. Perea itself was under the juris- 
diction of Herod Antipas, from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. 



250 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



every one that is indebted to us : and lead us not into 
temptation ; but deliver us from evil." Luke xi. 1-4. 

Soon after our blessed Saviour cast out a devil, when 
some who were present ascribed the miracle to Beelzebub. 
''And he was casting out a devil, a^nd it was dumb. 
And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the 
dumb spake ; and the people wondered. But some of 
them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub, the 
prince of the devils." Luke xi. 14, 15. However strange 
this argument may seem, and however weak and absurd 
it must appear to impartial judges, yet it had a con- 
siderable effect on illiterate persons, especially on those 
whose prejudices and interests it favored. The Phari- 
sees pretended that as Jesus had all along been at great 
pains to oppose the traditions which most of the teach- 
ers of that age considered as the essentials of religion 
and the principal branches of piety, he must be a very 
wicked person. 

They also insisted that a false prophet had the power 
of working signs and wonders, and thence that our Sa- 
viour performed all his miracles by the assistance of 
evil spirits, with an intention to turn the people from 
the worship of the true God. 

Another pretended reason for ascribing his miracles 
to evil spirits was that the demons themselves, when 
they departed out of the persons possessed, honored him 
with the title of Messiah. 

Their arguments, though evidently founded on false- 
hood, contributed largely to the infidelity of the Jews ; 
and however we may be surprised that such weak rea- 
sons should have any effect, considering what multitudes 
were witnesses of the many miracles the blessed J esus 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



251 



performed on the sick of all sorts ; on the blind, the deaf, 
the dumb, the maimed, the lame ; on paralytics, lunatics, 
demoniacs, and other miserable objects — nay, on the 
dead, whom he raised again to life, on the winds and 
the seas, in a word, on every part of nature — yet expe- 
rience hath abundantly convinced us that, notwithstand- 
ing all these evidences, their own superstitious opinions 
fixed that headstrong people in their infidelity. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

EXPLANATION OF THE ORIGIN AND OPINIONS OF THE DIFFER- 
ENT SECTS AMONG THE JEWS — OUR LORD TEACHES THE 
MULTITUDE BY PLAIN DISCOURSE, AND ALSO BY PARABLES. 

Having undertaken to write the history of the life of 
our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we cannot 
omit a distinct account of the different sects of the Jews, 
a people with whom he was most intimately concerned, 
both as a necessary elucidation of many circumstances, 
as well as an important verification of many things 
foretold concerning the Messiah. 

Josephus reckons four principal sects among the Jews 
— namely, the Pharisees, the Sadducees (called also 
Herodians), the Essenes, and the Galileans. The evan- 
gelists, however, mention only two, the Pharisees and 
Sadducees. 

The rise of the Pharisees is unknown. They claim, 
indeed, the celebrated Hillel for their founder. He is 



252 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



by some supposed to have lived during the pontificate 
of Jonathan, about a hundred and fifty years before the 
birth of Christ ; but others, with more reason, suppose 
that he was cotemporary with the famous Someas, who 
lived about the time of Herod, long before whom the 
sect of the Pharisees was in high repute. It is, there- 
fore, probable that they claim Hillel rather as an orna- 
ment than as the author of the sect. 

One of the most famous tenets of the Pharisees was 
that of an Oral Tradition handed down from Moses, and 
to which they attributed the same divine authority as 
to the sacred books. This being strenuously opposed by 
the Sadducees and Samaritans, rendered these equally 
detested by them. But none more incurred their hatred 
than the blessed Jesus, who embraced every occasion of 
reproving them for the unjustifiable preference they 
gave this pretended tradition to the written word of 
God, and also for condemning those as apostates worthy 
of death, who did not pay the same or even a greater 
regard to the former than to the latter. 

Another tenet they embraced, in opposition to the 
Sadducees, was that of the existence of angels, the im- 
mortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and 
future rewards. But, with regard to the last, they ex- 
cluded all who were notoriously wicked from having any 
share in the happiness of eternity ; supposing that, as 
soon as death had put a period to their lives, their souls 
were conveyed into everlasting punishment. 

A third tenet was, that all things were subject to fate, 
or, as some expressed it, to the heavens. It is not easy 
to conceive what they meant by this : Josephus, indeed, 
will have it that they designed to reconcile the fatalism 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



253 



of the Essenes with the free will of the Sadducees, but 
a certain learned prelate seems to have proved that they 
attribute all to fate, or to that chain of causes to which 
the Creator has subjected all things from the beginning ; 
among which the influence of the heavenly bodies was 
considered the principal. This tenet of the Pharisees 
was, therefore, a source of dislike to the doctrines 
delivered by the blessed Jesus, as these affirm that men 
are the authors of their own unbelief, disobedience, and 
obstinacy, and consequently answerable for that, and all 
the train of evils these vices draw after them. 

But the most distinguished character of the Pharisees, 
and that which rendered them more obnoxious to the 
just censures of our blessed Saviour, was their superero- 
gatory attachment to the ceremonial law ; their frequent 
washings, fastings, and prayings ; their giving alms 
publicly, seeking for proselytes, scrupulous tithings, 
affected gravity of dress, gesture, and mortified looks ; 
their building the tombs of the prophets, to tell the world 
that they were more righteous than their ancestors, who 
murdered them, though they were themselves plotting 
the death of One greater than all the prophets ; their 
over-scrupulous observance of the Sabbath, to the exclu- 
sion of the works of tho greatest charity, and many 
others of the like nature ; while they were wholly neg- 
ligent of the moral and eternal law of mercy and justice, 
of charity and humility, and the like indispensable 
virtues. The very best of them contented themselves 
with abstaining from the actual commission of any enor- 
mous act, while they indulged themselves in the most 
wicked thoughts and desires. Nay, some, more hard- 
ened in their vices, made no scruple not only of covet- 



254 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ing, but destroying poor widows' houses, of committing 
the vilest oppressions, injustice, and cruelties, and of 
encouraging these enormities in their followers, under 
the specious cloak of religion and sanctity. Well, there- 
fore, might the great Eedeemer of mankind compare 
them to whited sepulchres, beautiful indeed without, but 
within full of rottenness and corruption. 

The last erroneous opinion we shall mention of the 
Pharisees (common, indeed, to all the other sects, but 
more exactly conformable to their haughty, rapacious, 
and cruel temper), was their expectation of a powerful, 
conquering Messiah, who was to bring the whole world 
under the Jewish yoke ; so that there was scarce an 
inhabitant of Jerusalem, however mean, that did not 
expect to be made a governor of some opulent province 
under that wonderful prince. How unlikely was it, 
then, that the preaching of the meek and humble J esus, 
whose doctrine breathed nothing but humility, peace, 
sincerity, and contempt of the world, and universal love 
and beneficence, should ever be relished by that proud, 
that covetous, that hypocritical sect, or even by the 
rest of the people, while these their teachers so strenu- 
ously opposed it. 

The sect of the Sadducees is said to have been found- 
ed by Saddoc, a disciple of Antigonus of Socho. Their 
chief tenet was, that our serving God ought to be free 
either from fear of punishment or from hope of reward.* 



* A worldly, skeptical spirit never lacks plausible pretexts. One of 
these was found in opposition to the superstitions of the Pharisees, espe- 
ciaily those engendered by their Oral Tradition. This opposition, in 
itself essentially just, was altogether perverted, by the Sadducees, into a 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



255 



They added that God was the only immaterial being ; 
in consequence of which they denied the existence of 
angels, or any spiritual substances, except the Almighty 
himself. It is therefore no wonder that the Sadducees 
took every opportunity of opposing and ridiculing the 
doctrine of the resurrection. 

Another of their tenets, equally opposite to the Phari- 
sees and to the doctrine of Christ, was, that man was 
constituted absolute master of all his actions, and stood 
in no need of any assistance to choose or act : for this 
reason, they were always very severe in their sentences 
when they sat as judges. They rejected all the pretend- 
ed oral traditions of the Pharisees, admitting only the 
texts of the sacred books, and preferred those of Moses 
to all the rest of the inspired writings. They are 
charged with some other erroneous tenets by Josephus 
and the Talmudists ; but those already mentioned are 
abundantly sufficient for the purpose. The Christian 
doctrine of a future life, universal judgment, eternal 
rewards and punishmAts, to men whom a contrary 
doctrine had long soothed into luxury and an overgrown 
fondness for temporal happiness, which they considered 
as the only reward for their obedience, must of necessity 
appear strange and frightful, and, as such, could not 

rejection of the most vital truths. Another pretext was found in the dis- 
interested nature of true virtue, which justly demands our obedience to 
God and love to man on the primary ground of moral obligation. But 
this was perversely construed by the Sadducees, as if virtue could admit 
no consideration of consequences, no support under trial from a divine 
promise of reward, or from dread of divine punishment. That the de- 
scendants of Abraham should fall into such errors, and yet profess to 
believe the Scriptures, is a clear proof that the spirit of faith was utterly 
wanting. Indeed it is remarkable, that while some of the Pharisees em 
braced Christianity, we do not read of the conversion of a single Sadducee 



256 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fail of meeting with the strongest opposition from them ; 
especially if we add^ what Josephus observes, that they 
were, in general, men of the greatest quality and 
opulence, and, consequently, too apt to prefer the 
pleasures and grandeur of this life to those of another.* 
The sect of Galileans, or Gaulonites,f so called from 
J udas the Galilean or Gaulonite, appeared soon after the 
banishment of Archelaus, when his territories were 
made a Roman province and the government given to 
Coponius. For, some of the Jews considering this as an 
attempt to reduce them to slavery, Judas took advan- 
tage of their discontent ; and Augustus furnished them 
with a plausible pretence for an insurrection, by issuing 
about this time a second edict for surveying the whole 
province of Syria, and laying on it a proportional tax. J 
Judas, therefore, who was a man of uncommon ambition, 
took occasion from this incident to display all his elo- 
quence, in order to convince the Jews that such a sub- 
mission was nothing less than base idolatry, and placing 
men on a level with the God 'of Jacob, who was the 
only Lord and Sovereign that could challenge their 
obedience and subjection. § The party which he drew 
after him became so considerable that they threw every 

* See note page 48. 

t Gaulonitis was a district of Palestine north of the Sea of Galilee, and 
east of the Jordan before it enters the sea. It belonged to the jurisdiction 
of Philip the Tetrarch in the time of Christ, but its exact boundaries 
cannot be defined. In a loose sense, it might be said to belong to Gali- 
lee, and the name of this fanatical sect shows that such was the popular 
acceptance. Acts v. 37. 

t See note page 31. 

§ The close connection between religious fanaticism and rebellion is 
strongly illustrated in the history of this pernicious sect. 

f 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



257 



thing into confusion, laid the foundation for those 
frightful consequences that ensued, and which did not 
end but with the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The Essenes, though not mentioned by the evan- 
gelists, made a very considerable sect among the Jews, 
and are highly celebrated by Josephus, Philo, Pliny, 
and several Christian writers, both ancient and modern.* 
It is impossible to trace their origin, or even the 
etymology of their name. This, however, is certain — 
that they were settled in Judea in the time of Jonathan, 
the brother and successor of Judas Maccabeus, about a 
hundred and fifty years before Christ. 

The Essenes distinguished themselves by their rules 
and manner of life, into the laborious and contem- 
plative. The former divided their time between prayer 
and labor, such as the exercise of some handicraft, or 
the cultivation of some particular spot of ground, where 
they planted and sowed such roots, grain, etc., as served 
for their food : and the latter, between prayer, 
contemplation, and study. In this last they confined 

* Even Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine, goes so far as to claim 
them as a sect of Christians. But he Hved in an age when the general 
corruption of public manners made a life of ascetic seclusion for religious 
purposes appear saintly, without much regard to Christianity. 

The truth is, the Essenes were a small body of recluses, who lived near 
the borders of the Dead Sea, almost totally estranged from society. They 
were a sect of Mystics, whose outward character was respectable, like that 
of the Shakers in modern times, but whose doctrines and spirit had no 
tincture of the Gospel of Christ. Instead of deriving their doctrines from 
the Scriptures, they made void the authority of the Scriptures by arbi- 
trary and allegorical interpretations. Their importance is entirely over- 
rated by the writers mentioned above, although we may hope that some 
of them, like Luther in his cell, did find in the Bible a light that led them 
to Jesus. 

17 



258 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



themselves to the sacred books and morality, without 
troubling themselves with any branch of philosophy 
Both the contemplative and laborious had their syna- 
gogues, their stated hours for prayer, for reading, and 
expounding the sacred books. The latter was always 
performed by the elders, who were seated at the upper 
end of the synagogue, according to their seniority ; while 
the younger, who were permitted to read the lessons, 
were placed at the lower. Their expositions were 
generally of the allegorical kind, in which they seem 
to have exceded all their Jewish brethren. But they 
paid the greatest regard to the five books of Moses, and 
considered that lawgiver as the head of all the inspired 
penmen : they even condemned to immediate death 
whoever spoke disrespectfully either of him or his 
writings. Upon this account they studied, read, and 
expounded him more than all the rest, and seem to 
have drawn their religion chiefly from the Pentateuch. 
The doctrines and expositions of the elders were received 
with implicit faith, and in their practice they conformed 
with an entire submission to all their sect. 

With respect to their faith, they believed in the 
existence of angels, the immortality of the soul, and a 
future state of rewards and punishments, like the 
Pharisees, but seem to have had no notion of the 
resurrection. They considered the souls of men as 
composed of a most subtle ether, which, immediately 
after their separation from the cage or prison, as they 
called it, were adjudged to a place of endless happiness 
or misery ; that the good took their flight over the 
ocean, to some warm or delightful regions prepared for 
them, while the wicked were conveyed to some cold, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



259 



intemperate climate, where they were left to groan under 
an inexpressible weight of misery. They were likewise 
entirely opposed to the Sadducean doctrine of free-will, 
attributing all to an eternal fatality or chain of causes. 
They were averse to all kinds of oaths, affirming that 
a man's life ought to be such that he may be credited 
without them. The contemplative sort placed the 
excellency of their meditative life in raising their minds 
above the earth and placing their thoughts on heaven : 
when they had attained this degree of excellency, they 
acquired the character of prophets. 

In their practice they excelled all the other sects in 
austerity. If we may credit Philo, it was a funda- 
mental maxim with them, upon their entrance into the 
contemplative life, to renounce the world and to divide 
among their friends and relations their properties and 
estates. They never ate till after sunset, and the best 
of their food was coarse bread, a little salt, and a few 
stomach-herbs. Their clothing was made of coarse wool, 
plain, but white : they condemned all sorts of unctions 
and perfumes as luxurious and effeminate. Their beds 
were hard and their sleep short. Their heads, or supe- 
riors, were generally chosen according to seniority, 
unless there started up among the brotherhood some 
more conspicuous for learning, piety, or prophetic spirit ^' 
Some of them, indeed, were so contemplative that the}' 

* The Apostle Paul is, by some, supposed to refer to this Jewish sect 
in Col. ii. 23. This seems, on the whole, doubtful ; yet something of their 
spirit seems to have made its appearance in Paul's time at Colosse (A. D. 
63), and penetrated into the Christian church. Perhaps some of the 
Jewish Essenes from Egypt had come to Colosse, and under the name of 
Christians, broached their peculiar opinions in opposition to the supreme 
authority of Christ. The whole chapter is important in this view. 



260 



LIFE OF CHRIST 



neve^ stirred out of their cell, or even looked out of 
their window, during the whole week, spending their 
time in reading the sacred books and writing comments 
upon them. On the Sabbath day they repaired to their 
synagogues early in the morning, and continued there 
the whole day in prayer, singing psalms, or expounding 
the sacred books.* 

Having endeavored to explain the orighi and tenets 
of the several sects among the Jews, we now return to 
the history of our blessed Saviour, whom we left 
preaching in the country beyond Jordan, where he was 
surrounded by an innumerable multitude of people. 

In the audience of this vast assembly, he gave his 
disciples, in general, a charge to beware of the leaven 
of the Pharisees — namely, hypocrisy — because all 
their actions would be brought to light either in this 
world or in that which is to come ; and he therefore 
exhorted them to be very careful never to do any thing 
which could not bear the light, but to let the whole of 
their behavior be honest, just, and good. Beware ye 
of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For 
there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed ; 
neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore what- 
sover ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the 
light ; and that which ye have spoken in the ear, in 
closets, shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." Luke 
xii. 1-3. 

This argument against hypocrisy he used as a reason 
for their acquiring another quality, which would much 

* These four sects represent the Traditionists, the Reactionists, the 
Fanatics, and the Mystics of all nations and ages. Christianity stands 
against them all like a tower, four square. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



261 



better serve all the ends they could propose — namely, 
an undaunted resolution in the performance of their 
duty, founded on a firm confidence in God, who would 
bring to light the most secret word and thought, pub- 
licly condemn the wicked, and justify his faithful 
servants and children. 

Fear not, said he, the malice of the human race ; it 
can extend no farther than the destruction of the body ; 
your soul may bid defiance to their impotent rage. But 
dread the displeasure of that Almighty Being, who, 
after he has destroyed the body, is able to confine the 
soul in eternal torments. Remember all things are in 
his power, and that nothing happens without his per- 
mission : he provides for the meanest of his creatures, 
and surely you may think yourselves under his protec- 
tion, who numbers the very hairs of your head ; nor 
can your enemies touch one of them without his per- 
mission. Luke xii. 4, etc. 

Our Lord, to animate his followers to perseverance, 
admonishes them to look forward unto the general 
judgment when he would acknowledge them as his 
servants, provided they acknowledged him in this world 
as their Master, and cheerfully and constantly obeyed 
his commands. But if they were ashamed of him, and 
his doctrine, before the sons of men, he would disown 
them before the celestial host. And that those who 
reviled the Spirit, by whom they performed their 
miracles, should be punished by the Almighty, in pro- 
portion to the maUgnity of their crime, which is greater 
than that of reviling the Son of God himself ; because 
it will be impossible for them to repent. 

While our blessed Saviour was delivering these 



262 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



exhortations to his disciples, a certain person among the 
multitude begged him that he would interpose his 
authority with his brother, in order to oblige him to 
divide their paternal inheritance between them : but as 
this decision properly belonged to the magistrates, our 
l^lessed Saviour, who came into the world to redeem the 
souls of mankind, and to purchase for them an eternal, 
not a temporal inheritance, declined the of&ce. He, 
however, embraced the opportunity of giving his hearers 
the most solemn caution against cove tousness; declaring, 
that neither the length nor happiness of human life had 
any dependence on the largeness of possessions. Take 
heed, and beware of covetousness ; for a man's life con- 
sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he 
possesseth." Luke xii. 15. 

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, " The 
ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully : 
And he thought within himself, saying. What shall I 
do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits ? 
And he said. This will I do : I will pull down my barns, 
and build greater : and there will I bestow all my 
fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul. Soul, 
thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take 
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said 
unto him. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be 
required of thee : then whose shall these things be 
which thou hast provided?" Luke xii. 16, etc. 

" So is he," added our blessed Saviour, that layeth 
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." 
Thus shall he be taken away from all his soul desireth ; 
thus shall he be torn from all his temporal prospects 
and pleasures. None of his beloved enjoyments shall 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



263 



follow him ; naked as he came shall he depart out 
of the world, nor shall all his riches be able to 
procure him the least comfort or respite in these scenes 
of terror. 

Having spoken this parable, our Lord proceeded to 
caution his disciples against anxious cares for the things 
of this world, from a consideration that the care of God's 
providence extends to every part of the creation. He 
added, that as God had destined them to everlasting 
happiness in a future life, he would surely provide for 
them all the necessaries of the present. " Fear not, 
little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
you the kingdom." Luke xii. 33, 34. 

Having thus recommended to them the disengagement 
of their affections from the things of this world, he 
exhorted them to labor after improvement in grace. 

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights 
burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait 
for their Lord, when he shall return from the wedding, 
that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open 
unto him immediately." Luke xii. 35, 36. 

There were present, at that season, some that told 
him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled 
with their sacrifices;"* thinking that Providence, for 
some extraordinary crime, had suffered these Galileans 
to be murdered at the altar. 

But our Lord showed them the error of their opinion 
and inference concerning this point, it being no indica- 
tion that these Galileans were greater sinners than their 
countrymen because they had suffered so severe a 



* Josephus mentiDns this fact with some detail, but gives us no precise 
lote of time. 



264 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



calamity, and at the same time exhorted them to im- 
prove such instances of calamity, as incitements to their 
own repentance ; assuring them, that if they neglected 
so salutary a work, they should all likewise perish. 
" And Jesus answering, said unto them. Suppose ye, 
that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, 
because they suffered such things ? I tell you, nay ; 
but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
Luke xiii. 2, etc. 

He illustrated this doctrine, by putting them in mind 
of the eighteen persons on whom the tower of Siloam 
fell;"^' showing them, by this instance, the folly of inter- 
preting the dispensations of Providence in that manner; 
for though this calamity seemed to flow immediately 
from the hand of God, yet, in all probability, it had 
involved people who were remarkable for their piety 
and goodness. Or those eighteen upon whom the 
tower in Siloam fell, and slew them : think ye that they 
were sinners above all men that dwelt at Jerusalem? 
I tell you, nay ; but, except ye repent, ye shall all like- 
wise perish/' Luke xiii. 4, 5. 

To rouse them from their indolence, and to induce 
them to seek the aid of God's grace and spirit, he added 
the parable of the fig-tree, which the master of the vine- 
3^ard, after finding it three years barren, ordered to be 
destroyed : but was spared one year longer at the earnest 
solicitation of the gardener. Luke xiii. 6, etc. 

During Jesus' abode in the country of Perea, he 

* The tower of Siloam is not mentioned elsewhere, but it doubtless was 
erecte-d near the fountain or pool of Siloam. It was probabh;' designed to 
guard these important sources of water supply from falling into the hands 
of an enemy. See note page 235 



i 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



265 



observed, while he was preaching in one of the syna- 
gogues, on the Sabbath day, a woman who, during the 
&pace of eighteen years, had been unable to stand upright. 
A daughter of Israel laboring under so terrible a dis- 
order, could not fail of attracting the compassion of the 
Son of God. 

He beheld this affecting object: he pitied her deplor- 
able condition, he removed her complaint. She who 
came into the synagogue bowed down with an incurable 
infirmity, was, by the all-powerful word of the Son 
of God, restored to her natural health, and returned 
to her house upright, and full of vigor. 

Such a display of divine povv^er and goodness, instead 
of exciting the gratitude, so highly offended the master 
of the synagogue, that he openly testified his displeasure, 
and reproved the people as Sabbath-breakers, because 
they came on that day to be healed. " There are six 
days," said this surly ruler to the people, in which 
men ought to work : in them therefore come and bo 
healed, and not on the Sabbath day." Luke xiii. 14. 

But our blessed Saviour soon silenced this hypocritical 
Pharisee, by showing that he had not deviated from 
their own avowed practice. They made no scruple of 
loosing their cattle, and leading them to water on the 
Sabbath day, because the mercy of the action sufficiently 
justified them for performing it. And surely his action 
of loosing, by a single word, a woman, a rational creature, 
a daughter of Abraham, that had been bound by an 
incurable distemper during the tedious interval of eigh- 
teen years, was abundantly justified ; nor could this 
bigoted ruler have thought otherwise, had not his reason 
been blinded by his superstition. And when he had 



266 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



said these things all his adversaries were ashamed^ and 
all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that 
were done by him." Luke xiii. 15, etc. 

From this instance we may form some idea of th^ 
pernicious effects of superstition, which is capable of 
extinguishing reason, banishing compassion, and of erad 
icating the most essential principles and feelings of tht 
human breast. 

Our Lord, having reproved the superstition of the 
ruler of the synagogue, and observing the acclamations 
of the people, then proceeded to demonstrate the reason 
and truth which so effectually supported his kingdom. 
For he repeated the parables of the grain of mustard 
seed and of the leaven, to show the efficacious operations 
of the gospel upon the minds of the children of men, 
and its rapid j)rogress through the world, notwithstand- 
ing all the opposition of its most inveterate enemies. 

The great Kedeemer having now planted the seeds of 
the gospel in the country of Perea, crossed the Jordan, 
and travelled by slow journeys toward Jerusalem, 
preaching the gospel in every village, and declaring the 
glad tidings of salvation to all the inhabitants of those 
countries. 

While he was thus laboring for the salvation of man- 
kind, one of the persons who accompanied him asked 
him, ^^Lord, are there few that be saved?" Jesus told 
him that a small number only of the Jews would be 
saved ; exhorting him to embrace the offers of mercy 
before it was too late ; for that many, after the period 
of their trial was concluded, and their state finally and 
irreversibly determined, should earnestly desire these 
benevolent offers, but should be denied their request. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



267 



Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, 1 
say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be 
able. When once the master of the house is risen up, 
and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand with- 
out, and to knock at the door, saying. Lord, Lord, open 
to us ; and he shall answer, and say unto you, I know 
ye not, whence ye are." Luke xiii. 24, 25. 

Immediately after, certain of the Pharisees came to 
him, and told him that unless he departed thence, 
Herod would destroy him. But this concern for his 
safety was altogether feigned, and their real design no 
other than to intimidate him ; hoping by that means to 
induce him to leave the country, and retire into Judea, 
where they did not doubt but the chief priests would find 
some method of putting him to death. Perhaps Herod 
himself was privy to this message, and desired that Jesus 
should leave his territories, though the agonies he had 
suffered on account of John the Baptist hindered him 
from making use of force. That this was really the case 
seems evident from the answer our blessed Saviour made 
to the Pharisees. ^^Go ye," said he to these hypocriti- 
cal Israelites, " and tell that fox. Behold I cast out 
devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and the 
third day I shall be perfected.* Nevertheless, I must 



* No commentator that we have seen has noticed that the days hero 
spoken of by our Saviour, as necessary to finish his work in Perea, corre- 
spond precisely to the days that Jesus remained there after he had been 
apprised of the sickness of his friend Lazarus in Bethany. John xi. 6, 7. 
Can there be a doubt that the time is the same, though mentioned in dif- 
ferent connections by the two evangeUsts, Luke and John ? As Jesus 
would not yield his sense of duty and abandon his appointed work in 
Perea to any threats of Herod's sinister designs, so neither would he give 
it up to save the life of his friend or to relieve the anxiety of his sorrow- 



268 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



walk to-day, and to-morrow, and tlie day following: for 
it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem." 
Luke xiii. 32, 33. 

Having given this answer to the Pharisees, he reflect- 
ed on the treatment the prophets had received from the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem ; pathetically lamented their 
obstinacy, and the terrible desolation that would in a 
short time overtake them. Oh! Jerusalem, Jesusalem, 
which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are 
sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thy 
children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under 
her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is 
left unto you desolate." Luke xiii. 34, 35. 



ing sisters. Designing to raise Lazarus from the dead under the most 
trying circumstances, he did not even begin his journey to Bethany until 
he knew his death had taken place, and even then travelled so slowly that 
he did not arrive at Bethany until four days after the burial. Not that 
he loitered idly on the way, but that everywhere, as he passed from place 
to place, he was beset by the multitudes, who sought his presence for in- 
struction or healing. If he went up as late as March, A. D. 33 — at the 
Feast of Purim — these moving masses would accumulate on their way 
if Jerusalem. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



269 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE BLESSED JESUS ACCEPTS THE PHARISEE'S INVITATION — 
DELIVERS DIVERS PARABLES, REPRESENTING THE REQUI- 
SITES FOR ADMITTANCE INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD THE 

CARE OF THE REDEEMER FOR EVERY ONE OF HIS PEOPLE 

THE RECEPTION OF A PENITENT SINNER, AND THE PUNISH- 
MENT OF MISUSING THE BENEFITS OF THE GOSPEL. 

Our Saviour was invited by one of the Pharisees to 
his house. Though he knew that this invitation arose 
not from a generous motive, yet, as he never shunned 
any opportunity of doing good, even to his most impla- 
cable enemies, he accepted it. 

At his entering the Pharisee's house, they placed be- 
fore him a man that had a dropsy, doubtless with an 
intention to accuse him for healing on the Sabbath day 
—being persuaded that he would work a miracle in 
favor of so melancholy an object. Jesus, who knew the 
secret thoughts of their hearts, asked the lawyers'^' 
and Pharisees whether it was lawful to heal on the 
Sabbath day." But they refusing to give any answer 
to the question, Jesus laid his hand on the diseased per- 
son, and immediately his complexion returned, his body 
was reduced to its ordinary dimensions, and his former 
health and strength renewed in an instant. 

So surprising a miracle might surely have convinced 
these Pharisees that the author must have been endued 
with power from on high; but> instead of being per- 



* The lawyers were the same as the Scribes, % , teachers of the Jewish 
law. 



270 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



suaded that he was a person sent from God, who labored 
only for the benefit of the children of men, they were 
contriving how they might turn this miracle to his dis- 
advantage. Our Lord, however, soon disconcerted their 
projects, by proving that, according to their own avowed 
practice, he had done nothing but what was truly law- 
ful. Which of you," said he, shall have an ass or an 
oxen fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him 
out on the Sabbath day ?" If a calamity happens to one 
of your beasts, you make no scruple of assisting it on the 
Sabbath, though the action may be attended with con- 
siderable labor ; and surely I may relieve a descendant 
of Abraham, when nothing more is requisite than touch- 
ing him with my hand. This argument was conclusive, 
and so plain that the grossest stupidity must feel its 
force, and the most virulent malice could not contradict it. 

As the entertainment approached, our blessed Lord 
had an opportunity of observing the pride of the Phari- 
sees, and remarking what an anxiety each of them ex- 
pressed to obtain the most honorable place at the table. 
Nor did he let their ridiculous behaviour pass without 
a proper animadversion — in which he observed that 
pride generally exposed a person to many affronts, and 
that humility is the surest method of gaining respect. 
"When thou art bidden," said he, ''of any man to a 
wedding, sit not down in the highest room ; lest a more 
honorable man than thou be bidden of him, and he that 
bade thee and him come and say to thee. Give this man 
place ; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest 
room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in 
the lowest room ; that when he that bade thee cometh, 
he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher : then shalt 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



271 



thou have worship in the presence of them that sit it 
meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall 
be abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be ex- 
alted. Luke xiv. 8, etc. 

Having thus addressed the guests in general, he turned 
to the master of the house, and said unto him, When 
thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, 
nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich 
neighbors ; lest they also bid thee again, and a recom- 
pense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, 
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind." 
Luke xiv. 12, 13. Be very careful not to limit thy hos- 
pitality to the rich, but let the poor also partake of thy 
bounty. " And thou shalt be blessed ; for they cannot 
recompense thee ; for thou shalt be recompensed at the 
resurrection of the just." Luke xiv. 14. 

One of the Pharisees, -enraptured with the delightful 
prospect of the happiness good men enjoyed in the 
heavenly Canaan, cried out, Blessed is he that shall 
eat bread in the kingdom of God !" Blessed is he who, 
being admitted into the happy regions of Paradise, shall 
enjoy the conversation of the inhabitants of those heav- 
enly countries; as those spiritual repasts must regale 
and invigorate his mind beyond expression. In answer 
to which our blessed Saviour delivered the parable of 
the Marriage Supper, representing, by the invitation of 
the guests, the doctrine of the gospel, and the success 
those beneficent invitations to the great feast of heaven 
should meet with among the Jews ; foretelling that, 
though it was attended with every inviting circumstance, 
they would disdainfully reject it, and prefer the pleasures 
of a temporal existence to those of an eternal state ; 



2V2 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



while the Gentiles, with the greatest cheerfumesSj would 
embrace the beneficent offer, and thereby be prepared to 
sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the happy 
mansions of the kingdom of heaven. But, as this para- 
ble was afterward spoken by our blessed Saviour in the 
temple, we shall defer our observations on it till we come 
to the history where it was again delivered. 

When Jesus departed from the Pharisee's house, great 
multitudes of people thronged around him to hear his 
doctrine, but mistook the true intention of it, expecting 
he was going to establish the Messiah's throne in Jeru- 
salem and render all the nations of the world tributary 
to his power. The benevolent Jesus therefore took this 
opportunity to undeceive them, and to declare, in the 
plainest terms, that his kingdom was not of this world, 
and, consequently, that those who expected, by following 
him, to obtain temporal advantages, would find them- 
selves wretchedly mistaken, as, on the contrary, his 
disciples must expect to be persecuted from city to city, 
and hated of all men for his name's sake ; though it was 
requisite for those who would be his true followers to 
prefer his service to the richest grandeur and pleasure 
of the world, and to show, by their conduct, that they 
had much less respect and value for the dearest objects 
of their afifection than for him. "If any man come to 
me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and 
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own 
life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever 
does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be 
my disciple. Luke xiv. 26. 

And in order to induce them to weigh this doctrine 
attentively in their minds, he elucidated it with two 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



278 



opposite cases — that of an unthinking builder and of a 
rash warrior. The former was obliged to leave the 
structure unfinished, because he had foolishly begun 
the building before he had computed the cost ; and the 
latter, reduced to the dilemma of being ingloriously 
defeated, or meanly suing for peace previous to the 
battle, having rashly declared war before he had consid 
ered the strength of his own and his enemy's army. 

So likewise, whosoever he be of you," added the blessed 
Jesus, " that forsake th not all that he hath, he cannot 
be my disciple." Luke xiv. 33. 

The publicans and sinners, roused by the alarming 
doctrine of our Lord, listened to it attentively. This 
opportunity was readily embraced by the great Redeemer 
of mankind, who not only condescended to preach to 
them the happy tidings of eternal life, but even accom- 
panied them to their own houses, that, if possible, the 
seeds of the gospel might take root in their hearts. But 
this condescension of the meek and humble Jesus was 
considered, by the haughty Pharisees, as an action too 
mean for the character of a prophet. They murmured, 
and were highly displeased at a condescension which 
ought to have given the greatest joy. But Jesus soon 
showed them their mistake, by repeating to them the 
parables of the Lost Sheep and Piece of Money ; intimating 
thereby the great care all prophets and pastors ought to 
take of those committed to their care, and the obligation 
they lie under of searching diligently for every wander- 
ing sinner, whose conversion is a grateful offering to the 
Almighty. " There is joy in the presence of the angels 
of God over one sinner that repenteth." Luke xv. 10. 

To illustrate this doctrine still further, and sliow to 

18 



274 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the greatest sinner the willingness of God to receive him 
into his grace and favor, if convinced of his unworthy 
and lost condition in himself and imploring forgiveness 
through the merits of Jesus Christ, and the renewal of 
his heart by the efficacious influences of his spirit, he 
delivered the expressive parable of the Prodigal Son. 
Luke XV. 

There are three expositions given of this instructive 
representation, each of which seems to have some place 
in the original design, for it should be observed, and 
carefully remembered, that the parables and doctrines 
of our Saviour are by no means to be confined absolutely 
to one single point of view, since they frequently have 
relation to different objects, and consequently prove the 
riches and depth of the manifold wisdom of God.* 

* This general principle (called by the learned Tholuck the comprehen- 
sive principle of interpretation) is undoubtedly a sound one ; but it requires 
great prudence in its use, or it will degenerate into vain imaginations, 
and fritter away the very substance of divine Eevelation. Least of all, is 
it applicable to the study of the parabl&s ; which being in their nature 
vailed in a certain degree of obscurity, yet have but one proper meaning ; 
and that one we are bound to take and adhere to, as the true teaching of 
Christ. The moment we permit ourselves to depart from this principle, 
we cut loose from the authority of Christ, and conscience is left free to 
float in the dazzling mists of human fancy till wrecked on the most fatal 
rocks. 

This is not mere theory. The old Jewish rabbis had a saying, that 
" every sentence of Scripture contains a mountain of sense," and the result 
was what is called the dynamic principle of interpretation, i. e., that every 
^ntence has as many meanings as can be put upon it by the ingenuity 
of the expositor. Thence came that mass of "Jewish fables" which 
crowd the Talmuds, and mislead that blinded people to this day. Some 
of the early Christian writers fell into the same vortex of folly. Our 
author has given us two specimens of this treatment of the beautiful 
parable of the Prodigal Son ; which expositions, while possibly teaching 
no false doctrine, have not the slightest claim, on any just ground, to be 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



275 



In this parable, for instance, the great and principal 
doctrine, intended to be particularly inculcated, is, that 
sinners, upon their repentance and faith, are gladly re- 
ceived into favor ; or that there is joy in heaven over 
one sinner that repenteth. There are, however, two 
other applications of this parable : the first is that of 
the greatest part of the ancients, who expounded it of 
.A.dam. He was made in the image of God, and endowed 
with many other excellent gifts, which he might have 
used happily, had he been content to stay in his Father's 
house ; but, like this younger brother, who foolishly de- 
sired his portion of goods to himself, that he might be 
his own master and under no confinement or restriction, 
he was unwilling to remain under the obedience of the 
divine precept ; he was desirous of having a free use of 
things in Paradise, and by the devil's instigation affected 
a wretched independency, which caused him to break 
the divine command, and eat of the forbidden tree, to 
obtain the knowledge of good and evil. Thus he lost 
for himself and his posterity the substance put at first 
into his possession ; but his heavenly Father, on his and 
his posterity's return, hath provided such grace and com- 
passion for them that they may be reinstated in their 
former place and favor. And the same grace not being 
granted to the higher order of intellectual beings, the 
fallen spirits, is the cause of their murmuring against 



regarded as the meaning of Christ, He has the good sense to distinguish 
the real meaning, as fixed by the occasion and context ; but is too ready 
to endorse the strained and unwarranted fancies of some of the ancient 
" fathers," so-called. What sort of fathers were they, who neither founded 
the Church, nor fed it on "the pure milk of the word" ? 1 Pet. ii. 1,2; 
2 Cor. ii. 1". 



276 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



God and meii; represented by the answer of the elder 
brother in this parable. 

Others, secondly, with a much greater show of proba- 
bility, expound this parable of the two people the Jews 
and Gentiles, who have both one Father, even God ; 
and while the}' both continued in their Father's house, 
the true church, they wanted for nothing : there was 
plenty of food for the soul, there was substance enough 
for them both. But the latter, represented by the 
younger brother, possessed of his share of knowledge, 
went into a strange country, left God, and spent his 
substance, the evidence and knowledge of the Almighty, 
fell into idolatry, and wasted all he had in riotous living 
— all Ms knowledge of God in the loose and absm-d cere- 
monies of idolatry. Then, behold, a mighty famine 
arose in that land : the worship of the true God wab 
banished the country. In this dreadful dearth and 
hunger, he joined himself to the devil, and worked all 
" uncleanness with greediness." But, finding nothing to 
satisfy his spiritual hunger, this prodigal, long estranged 
from his Father, reflecting on this spmtual famine and 
his own severe wants, humbly confessed his faults, re- 
turned to his offended Father, was readmitted into favor, 
and blessed with the privileges of the gospel. But the 
elder brother, the Jewish Church, daily employed in the 
field of legal ceremonies, and who had long groaned un- 
der the yoke of the law, seeing the Gentiles received 
into the covenant of the gospel, obtain the remission of 
sins and the hope of everlasting life, murmured against 
the benevolent acts of the Almighty. God, however, 
out of his great compassion, pleaded jDathetically the 
cause with the elder brother, offered him all things, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



277 



upon supposition of his continuing in his obedience, and 
declared that he had dehvered the nation from the 
heavy yoke of the ceremonial law. 

Thus the parable has a very clear and elegant expo- 
sition, the murmuring of the elder brother is explained 
to us without the least difficulty ; and as the offence of 
receiving the Gentiles to pardon and peace, through 
Jesus Christ, was so great a stumbling-block to the J ews, 
it is natural to imagine that our Saviour intended to 
obviate and remove it by this excellent parable. 

It is, however, evident, both from the context and 
the occasion of delivering it, that the third interpreta- 
tion is the first in design and importance. The publi- 
cans and sinners drew near to hear Jesus. This gave 
occasion to a murmuring among the Pharisees ; and, 
upon their murmuring, our Saviour delivered this and 
two other parables, to show that, if they would resemble 
God and the celestial host, they should, instead of 
murmuring, rejoice at seeing sinners willing to embrace 
the doctrines of the gospel, because there is joy, in the 
presence of God and his angels, ^^'over one sinner that 
repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons 
that need no repentance." 

The obstinacy and malicious temper of the Pharisees, 
who opposed every good doctrine, made a deep impres- 
sion on the mind of the blessed Jesus : he did not, 
therefore, content himself barely with justifying his 
receiving sinners, in order to their being justified and 

* The best tnat can be said of these two expositions is, that they arc in- 
genious applications of the parable to ilhistrate other truths thaji the cne 
so clearly and beautifully taught in it. What that is our author proceeds 
to show, and to that our attention should be confined if we would see its 
admirable pertinence to the occasion. 



278 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



saved through him, but, in the presence of the Scribes 
and Pharisees, turned himself to his disciples, and deliv- 
ered the parable of the Artful Steward, as an instance of 
the ingenuity shown by the children of this world in 
embracing every opportunity and advantage for improv- 
ing their interests. " There was," said he, " a certain 
rich man which had a steward ; and the same was accused 
unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called 
him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of 
thee ? Give an account of thy stewardship ; for thou 
mayest be no longer steward." Luke xvi. 1, 2. 

This reprimand of his lord, and the inward convic- 
tion of his own conscience that the accusation was just, 
induced him to reflect on his own ill management of 
his lord's affairs, and in what manner he should support 
himself when he should be discharged from his service. 
^^What shall I do?" said he, ''for my lord taketh 
away from me the stewardship ? I cannot dig ; to beg 
I am ashamed." Luke xvi. 3. 

In this manner he deliberated with himself, and at 
last resolved on the following expedient, in order to 
make himself friends who would succor him in his 
distress : ''I am resolved what to do, that, when I am 
put out of my stewardship, they may receive me into 
their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debt- 
ors unto him, and said unto the first. How much owest 
thou unto my lord ? And he said. An hundred meas- 
ures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and 
sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to 
another. And how much owest thou ? And he said. An 
hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, 
Take thy bill and write fourscore." Luke xvi. 4, etc. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



279 



To illustrate this parable, we beg leave to observe that 
the riches and trade of the Jews, originally, consisted 
principally in the products of the earth : they were, if 
we may be allowed the expression, a nation of farmers 
and shepherds ; so that their wealth, chiefly, arose from 
the produce of their flocks and herds and the fruits of 
the earth, their corn, their wine, and their oil. 

Thus, the steward, to secure the friendship of his 
lord's tenants, bound them to him under a lasting obli- 
gation ; and his master, when he heard of the proceed- 
ings of his steward, commended him, not because he 
acted honestly, but because he acted sagaciously : he 
commended the art and address he had shown in produ- 
cing a future subsistence; he commended the prudence 
and ingenuity he had used with regard to his own 
interest, and to deliver him from future poverty and 
distress. For the children of this world," added the 
blessed Jesus, are in their generation wiser than the 
children of light." They are more prudent and careful, 
more anxious and circumspect, to secure their possessions 
in this world, than the children of light are to secure 
in the next an eternal inheritance. ^'And I say unto 
you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of un- 
righteousness ; that, when ye fail, they may receive you 
into everlasting habitations." Luke xvi. 9. 

This advice of our Saviour is worthy our most serious 
attention ; the best use we can make of our riches being 
to employ them in promoting the salvation of others. 
For, if we use our abilities and interests in turning sin- 
ners from the evil of their ways, if we spend our Avealth 
in this excellent service, from pure motives and to the 
glory of God, we shall have the good-will of all the 



280 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



heavenly beings, who will greatly rejoice at the conver- 
sion of sinners, and, with open arms, receive us into the 
mansions of felicity. 

But this is not the whole application our Saviour 
made of this parable. He added, that if we made use 
of our riches in the manner he recommended, we should 
be received into those everlasting habitations, where all 
the friends of virtue and religion reside ; because, by 
our fidelity in managing the small trust of temporal 
advantages committed to our care, we show ourselves 
worthy and capable of a much greater trust in heavenly 
employments. 

And if, while ye are God's stewards and servants, ye 
desert your trust, and become slaves to the desire of 
riches, you can expect no other than to be called to -a 
strict account of your stewardship ; covetousness being 
as absolutely inconsistent with a true concern for the 
cause of Christ, as it is for a man to undertake at one 
and the same time to serve two masters of contrary dis- 
positions, and opposite interests. " No servant can serve 
two masters ; for either he will hate the one, and love 
the other ; or else he will hold to the one, and despise 
the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." Luke 
xvi. 13. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



281 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

JESUS REBUKES THE INSOLENT DERISION OF THE PHARISEES 

DESCRIBES, BY A PARABLE, THE NATURE OF FUTURE RE- 
WARDS AND PUNISHMENTS, AND ENFORCES THE DOCTRINE 
OF MUTUAL FORBEARANCE. 

The doctrines delivered by our Lord, being so repug- 
nant to the avaricious principles of the Pharisees, they 
derided him as a visionary speculatist, who despised the 
pleasures of this world, for no other reason than because 
he was not able to procure them. It is, therefore, no 
wonder that men who had shown such a complication 
of the very worst dispositions should receive a sharp 
rebuke from the meek and humble Jesus ; accordingly, 
he told them that they made, indeed, specious pretences 
to extraordinary sanctity, by outwardly shunning the 
company of sinners, while in private they made no scru- 
ple of having society with them, or even of joining with 
them in their wickedness. Ye are they which justify 
yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts." 
Ye may, indeed, cover the foulness of your crimes with 
the painted cloak of hypocrisy, and in this disguise de- 
ceive those who look no further than the outside, but 
ye cannot screen your wickedness from the penetrating 
eye of Omnipotence, to whom all things are naked and 
exposed, and who judges of things, not by their appear- 
ances, but according to truth ; it is, therefore, no won- 
der thas he often abhors both persons and things that 
are held by men in the highest estimation: for that 



282 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in 
the sight of God." 

But the Pharisees, like the Sadducees, stupefied and 
intoxicated with sensual pleasures, were deaf to every 
argument, how powerful soever, provided it was levelled 
against their lusts. In order to illustrate this truth, 
confirm his assertion, and rouse these hypocritical rulers 
from their lethargy, he spoke the awakening parable of 
the Rich Man and the Beggar. 

There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in 
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. 
And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, which 
was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed 
with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table ; 
moreover," so great was his misery, so exquisite his dis- 
tress, ^Hhe dogs came and licked his sores." Thus 
wretched in life, the Almighty at last released him : 

the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into 
Abraham's bosom." Nor could the rich man's wealth 
rescue him from the same fate : " the rich man also died, 
and was buried." But behold now the great, the awful 
change! ^^In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- 
ments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and" the late 
despised and afilicted " Lazarus in his bosom." In this 
agony of pain and distress, he cried to Abraham, his 
earthly father, begging that he would take pity on him, 
and send Lazarus to give him even the least degree of 
relief, that of dipping the tip of his finger in water to 
cool his tongue, for his torment was intolerable. " Father 
Abraham have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he 
may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my 
tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



283 



said. Son, remember that thou in thy life time receivedst 
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things : but 
now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And 
besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf 
fixed ; so that they which would pass from hence to you, 
cannot : neither can they pass to us that would come 
from thence." Luke xvi. 24, etc. 

The miserable wretch, finding it impossible to procure 
any relief for himself, was desirous of preserving his 
thoughtless relations from the like distress. Then he 
said, I pray thee, therefore, father, that thou wouldst 
send him to my father's house : for I have five brethren; 
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into 
this place of torment." Luke xvi. 27, 28. This also 
was a petition that could not be granted. It is too late 
to hope for relief, when the soul is cast into the bottom- 
less pit. They may learn, said Abraham, the certainty 
of the immortality of the soul from the books of Moses 
and the prophets, if they will give themselves the trou- 
ble to peruse them attentively.- To which the miserable 
object replied, that the books of Moses and the prophets 
had been ineffectual to him, and he feared would be so 
to his brethren. But if one actually arose from the dead, 
and appeared to them, they would certainly rejDent, and 
embrace those offers of salvation they had before slighted. 
^' Nay, father Abraham ; but if one went unto them from 
the dead, they will repent." But Abraham told him, 
that in this he was greatly mistaken, for that if they re- 
fused to believe the evidence of a future state, contained 
in the writings of Moses and the prophets, the testimony 
of a messenger from the dead would not be sufficient 
to convince them. If they hear not Moses and the 



I 



284 LIFE OF CHEIST. 

prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one 
rose from the dead." 

This truth, asserted by Abraham, has been abundantly 
proved by undeniable facts ; from whence it has appeared, 
that those who will not be convinced by a standing rev- 
elation, will not be convinced, though one rose from the 
dead. These very Jews, to whom our Saviour spoke, 
were remarkable instances of this truth ; they were fully 
assured, that another Lazarus was, by the power of 
Christ, raised from the dead, after he had lain several 
days in the tomb : a fact which they were so far from 
being able to disprove, that they attempted to kill 
Lazarus ; as if, by this wicked action, they could have 
destroyed his evidence. Nay, they had a still more 
lively proof, in the resurrection of Jesus himself, which 
they were so far from being able to deny, that they 
bribed the soldiers to spread that senseless tale, that his 
disciples came by night and stole him away. So true 
were Abraham's words, that they who believe not Moses 
and the prophets, which testify of Christ and his eternal 
redemption, would not be persuaded, though one rose 
from the dead. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

OUR LORD IS APPLIED TO IN BEHALF OF LAZARUS CURES 

TEN PERSONS OF THE LEPROSY IN PEREA, AND RE- 
STORES LAZARUS TO LIFE. 

Soon after our blessed Saviour had finished these 
discourses, one of his friends, named Lazarus, fell sick 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



285 



at Bethany, a village about two miles from Jerusalem, 
and far from the countries beyond Jordan, where Jesus 
was now preaching the gospel. The sisters of Lazarus, 
finding his sickness was of a dangerous kind, thought 
proper to send an account of it to Jesus ; being firmly 
persuaded that he who had cured so many strangers, 
would readily come and give health to one whom he 
loved in so tender a manner. " Lord," said they, 

behold, he whom thou lovest is sick :" they did not 
add, Come down and heal him, make haste and save 
him from the grave : it was sufficient for them to relate 
their necessities to their Lord, who was both able and 
willing to help them from their distress. 

When Jesus heard that, he said. This sickness is 
not unto death." This declaration of the benevolent 
Jesus, being carried to the sisters of Lazarus, must have 
strangely surprised them, and exercised both theirs' and 
his disciples' faith ; since it is probable that, before the 
messenger arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had expired. 
Soon after, Jesus positively assured his disciples that 

Lazarus was dead."* 

The evangelist, in the beginning of this account, tells 
us that Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus, 
xnd also that after he had received the message he abode 
two days in the same place where he was. His design 
in this might be to intimate that his lingering so long 
after the message came, did not proceed from a want of 
concern for his friends, but happened according to the 
counsels of his own wisdom. For the length of time 
which Lazarus lay in the grave put his death beyond 
all possibility of doubt, removed every suspicion of 



* Sec note page 267. 



286 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



fraud, and consequently afforded Jesus a fit opportunity 
of displaying the love he bore to Lazarus, as well as his 
undoubted resurrection from the dead. His sisters, in- 
deed, were, by this means, kept awhile in painful 
anxiety on account of their brother's life, and at last 
pierced by the sorrows of seeing him die ; yet they must 
surely think themselves abundantly recompensed by the 
evidence, according to the gospel, from this astonishing 
miracle, as well as by the inexpressible surprise of joy 
they felt, when they again received their brother from 
the dead. 

J esus having declared his resolution of returning into 
Judea, Thomas, conceiving nothing less than destruction 
from such a journey, yet unwilling to forsake his Master, 
said, Let us also go, that we may die with him." 
Let us not forsake our Master in this dangerous journey, 
but accompany him into J udea, that, if the Jews, whose 
inveteracy we are well acquainted with, should take 
away his life, we may also expire with him."^ 

The journey to Judea being thus resolved on, Jesus 
departed with his disciples on his way to Bethany. 

And as he entered into a certain village, there met 
him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off ; and 
they lifted up their voices, and said, J esus, Master, have 
mercy on us. And when he saw them he said unto 
them, . Go, show yourselves unto the priest. And it 
came to pass, that as they went they were cleansed." 
Luke xvii. 12. 

* This is the first remark recorded of Thomas, and it speaks well for his 
ove to his Master. If he was slow to believe, he, was quick to feel, full 
if generous sympathy, and fearless of impending danger when the path 
)f duty was clear. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



287 



Among these miserable objects, one of them was a 
native of Samaria, who, perceiving that his cure was 
complete, came back, praising God for the great mercy 
he had received. He had before kept at a distance from 
our Saviour ; but, being now sensible that he was en- 
tirely clean, he approached his benefactor, that all might 
have an opportunity of beholding the miracle, and fell 
on his face at his feet, thanking him, in the most humble 
manner, for his condescension in healing him of so terri- 
ble a disease. Jesus, in order to intimate that those 
who were enlightened with the knowledge of the truth 
ought, at least, to have shown as great sense of piety 
and gratitude as this Samaritan, asked, " Were there 
not ten cleansed ? but where are the nine ? There are 
not found that returned to give glory to God, save this 
stranger." Luke xvii. 17, 18. 

Jesus and his disciples now continued their journey 
toward Bethany, where he was informed, by some of the 
inhabitants of that village, that Lazarus was not only 
dead, as he had foretold, but had now lain in the grave 
four days. The afflicted sisters were overwhelmed with 
sorrow ; so that many of the Jews from Jerusalem came 
to comfort them concerning their brother. 

It seems the news of our Lord's coming had reached 
Bethany before he arrived at the village ; for Martha, 
the sister of Lazarus, being informed of his approach, 
went out and met him ; but Mary, who was of a more 
melancholy and contemplative disposition, sat still in 
the house. No sooner was Martha come into the 
presence of Jesus, than, in an excess of grief, she poured 
forth her complaint : Lord, said she, if thou hadst com 
plied with the message we sent thee, I well know that 



288 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



thy interest with heaven had prevailed : my brother 
had been cured of his disease and preserved from the 
chambers of the grave. 

Martha, doubtless, entertained a high opinion of our 
Saviour's power : she believed that death did not dare 
to approach his presence ; and, consequently, if Jesus 
had arrived at Bethany before her brother's dissolution, 
he had not fallen a victim to the king of terrors. But 
she imagined it was not in his power to heal the sick at 
a distance ; though, at the same time, she seemed to 
have some dark and imperfect hopes that our blessed 
Saviour would still do something for her. "But I 
know," said she, that even now^ whatsoever thou wilt 
ask of God, God will give it thee." She thought that 
Jesus could obtain whatsoever he desired by prayer, and 
therefore did not found hopes on his power, but on the 
power of God, through his intercession. She doubtless 
knew that the great Redeemer of mankind had raised 
the daughter of Jairus, and the widow's son at Nain, 
from the dead, but seems to have considered her brother's 
resurrection as much more difficult, probably because he 
had been longer dead. 

But Jesus, who was willing to encourage this imper- 
fect faith of Martha, answered : ^^Thy brother shall rise 
again." As these words were delivered in an indefinite 
sense with regard to time, Martha understood them only 
as an argument of consolation drawn from the general 
resurrection, and accordingly answered : "1 know that 
he shall rise again at the resurrection at the last day." 
She was firmly persuaded of that important article of 
the Christian faith, the " resurrection of the dead ;" at 
which important hour she believed her brother would 



r 
I 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 289 

rise from the dust. And here she seems to have termi- 
nated all her hopes, not thinking that the Son of God 
would call her brother from the sleep of death. Jesus, 
therefore, to instruct her in the great truth, replied, I 
am the resurrection and the life." I am the author of 
the resurrection, the fountain and giver of that life they 
shall then receive, and therefore can with the same ease 
raise the dead now as at the last day. He that be- 
lieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; 
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
die. Believest thou this ?" To which Martha answered, 
Yea, Lord ; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son 
of God, which should come into the world." I believe 
that -thou art the true Messiah, so long promised by the 
prophets, and therefore believe that thou art capable of 
performing every instance of power that thou art pleased 
to claim. 

Martha now left Jesus, and called her sister, accord- 
ing to his order. Mary no sooner heard that Jesus was 
come than she immediately left her Jewish comforters, 
who increased the weight of her grief, and flew to her 
Saviour. The Jews, who suspected she was. going to 
weep over the grave of her brother, followed her to that 
great Prophet who was going to remove all her sorrows. 
Thus the Jews, who came from Jerusalem to comfort 
the two mournful sisters, were brought to the grave of 
Lazarus and made witnesses of his resurrection. 

As soon as Mary approached the great Redeemer of 
mankind, she fell prostrate at his feet, and, in a flood of 
tears, poured out her complaint : Lord, if thou hadst 
been here my brother had not died." No wonder the 
compassionate Jesus was moved at so affecting a scene : 

19 



200 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



on this side stood Martha, pouring forth a flood of tears ; 
at his feet lay the affectionate Mary, weeping and 
lamenting her dear departed brother ; while the Jews, 
who came to comfort the afflicted sisters, unable to con- 
fine their grief, joined the common mourning, and mixed 
their friendly tears, in witness of their love for the de- 
parted Lazarus, and in testimony to the justice of the 
sisters' grief for the loss of so amiable, so deserving a 
brother. Jesus could not behold the affliction of these 
two sisters and their friends without having a share in 
it himself : his heart was melted at the mournful scene : 
a he groaned in spirit, and was troubled." 

To remove the doubts and fears of these pious women, 
he asked them where they had buried Lazarus — not 
that he was ignorant where the body of the deceased 
was laid ; he who knew that he was dead, when so far 
distant from him, and could raise him up by a single 
word, must have known where his remains were depos- 
ited — to which they answered : Lord, come and see." 
The Son of God, to prove that he was not only so, but 
a most compassionate man, and to show us that the 
tender affections of the human heart, when kept in due 
bounds, and that friendly sorrow, when not immoderate 
and directed to proper ends, are consistent with the 
highest sanctity of the soul, joined in the general mourn- 
ing. He wept even at the time he was going to give 
the most ample proof of his divinity. 

By his weeping, the Jews were convinced that he loved 
Lazarus exceedingly ; but some of them interpreted this 
circumstance to his disadvantage ; or, according to their 
mean way of judging, they fancied he had suffered him 
to fall by the stroke of death for no other reason in the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



291 



world but for want of power and affection to rescue him. 
''Could not this man," said they, ''which opened the 
eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should 
not have died ?" 

Our Lord, regardless of their question, but grieving 
for the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their 
infidelity, groaned within himself as he walked toward 
the sepulchre of the dead. At his coming to the grave, 
he said, " Take ye away the stone." To which Martha 
answered, " Lord, by this time he smelleth ; for he hath 
been dead four days." She meant to intimate that her 
brother's resurrection was not now to be expected ; but 
Jesus gave her a solemn reproof, to teach her that there 
was nothing impossible with God, and that the power 
of the Almighty is not to be circumscribed within the 
narrow bounds of human reason. " Said I not unto 
thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the 
glory of God ?" i. e.. Have but faith, and I will display 
before thee the power of Omnipotence. 

The objections of Martha being thus obviated, she, 
with the rest, awaited tfie great event in silence, and, 
in pursuance with the command of the Son of God, took 
away the stone from the place where the dead was laid, 
Jesus had, on many occasions, publicly appealed to his 
own miracles as the proofs of his mission, though he did 
not usually make a formal address to his Father before 
he worked those miracles. But, being now to raise 
Lazarus from the dead, he prayed for his resurrection, 
to convince the spectators that it could not be effected 
without an immediate interposition of the Divine power. 
" Father," said he, " I thank thee that thou hast heard 
me. And / know^ that thou hearest me always ; but 



292 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



because of the people which stand by, I said it, that 
they may believe that thou hast sent me."* John 
xi. 41, 42. 

After returning thanks to his Father for this oppor- 
tunity of displaying his glory, "he cried, with a loud 
voice, Lazarus come forth." This loud and efficacious 
call of the Son of God awakened the dead ; the breath- 
less clay was instantly reanimated; and he who had 
lain four days in the tomb obeyed immediately the 
powerful sound. "And he that was dead came forth 
bound hand and foot with grave-clothes ; and his face 
was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto 
them, Loose him, and let him go." John xi. 44. It 
would have been the least part of the miracle had Jesus 
by his powerful word unloosed the napkin wherewith 
Lazarus was bound ; but he brought him out in the 
same manner as he was lying, and ordered the specta- 
tors to loose him, that they might be the better convinced 
of the miracle ; for in taking off the grave-clothes they 

had the fullest evidence both of hi-s death and resurrec- 

* 

tion. For, on the one hand, the manner in which he 
was swathed must soon have killed him if he had been 
alive when buried ; which consequently demonstrated, 
beyond all exception, that Lazarus had been dead 
several days before Jesus called him again to life ; 
besides, in stripping him the linen probably offered, 
both io their eye and smell, abundant proofs of his 



* This is the only miracle recorded of Jesus which was prefaced by audi- 
ble prayer. Yet the communion of spirit between the Son of God and the 
Father who sent him, was constant and uninterrupted. John v. 19-21. 
It was to manifest this fact to others ^n this great occasion that Jesus 
thus spoke. 



% 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 293 

putrefaction, and by that means convinced them that 
he had not been in a swoon, but was really dead. On 
the other hand, by his lively countenance appearing 
when the napkin was removed, his fresh color, and his 
active vigor, those who came near and handled him 
must be convinced that he was in perfect health, and 
had an opportunity of proving the truth of the miracle 
by the closest examination. 

There is something exceedingly beautiful in our 
Lord's behavior on this occasion : he did not utter one 
upbraiding word, either to the doubting sisters or the 
malicious Jews, nor did he let fall one word of triumph 
or exultation : " Loose him, and let him go," were the 
only words we have recorded. He was on this, as on 
all other occasions, consistent with himself, a pattern 
of perfect humility and modesty. 

Such was the astonishing work wrought by the Son 
of God at Bethany ; and in the resurrection of Lazarus, 
thus corrupted, and thus raised by the powerful call of 
Jesus, we have a striking emblem and glorious earnest 
of the resurrection of our bodies from the grave at the 
last day, when the same powerful mandate which spoke 
Lazarus again into being shall collect the scattered parti- 
cles of our bodies and raise them to immortality. 

Such an extraordinary power, displayed before the 
face of a multitude, and near to Jerusalem, even over- 
came the prejudices of some of the most obstinate among 
them. Many believed that Jesus could be no other than 
the great Messiah so long promised ; though others, who 
still expected a temporal prince, and therefore were un- 
willing to acknowledge him for their Saviour, were filled 
with indignation, particular!} the chief priests and 



294 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

elders. " Then gathered the chief priests and the 
Pharisees a council, and said. What do we? for this 
man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all 
men will believe on him ; and the Romans shall come 
and take away both our place and nation." John xi. 
47, 48. The common people, astonished at his miracles, 
will, if we do not take care to prevent it, certainly set 
him up for the Messiah ; and the Romans, under pre- 
tence of a rebellion, will deprive us both of our liberty 
and religion. Accordingly, they came to a resolution 
to put him to death. This resolution was not, however, 
unanimous ; for Nicodemus, J oseph of Arimathea, and 
other disciples of our Saviour, then members of the 
council, urged the injustice of what they proposed to do, 
from the consideration of his miracles and innocence. 
But Caiaphas, the high-priest, from a principle of human 
policy, told them that the nature of government often 
required certain acts of injustice in order to secure the 
safety of the state. Ye know nothing at all, nor con- 
sider that it is expedient for us that one man should 
die for the people, and that the whole nation perish 
not." * John xi. 49, 50. 

The evangelist John calls this a prophecy (unconscious to the wicked 
high-priest in its highest sense), because it was the recognition of the 
fundamental principle of Christ's redeeming sacrifice, as related to the 
government of God and the salvation of men. Only in that relation there 
was no inj istice committed when " the Lord laid upon him the iniquity 
of us all;' since Christ of his own accord "offered himself for us," and 
" suffered the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." Isaiah 
liii. 6 ; Ephes. v. 2 ; 1 Pet. iii. 18. 

Thus the whole Jewish nation, as represented by the high-priest in 
its highest council, while actuated by the most selfish spirit of enmity to 
the Eedeemer, was eventually led to endorse the great principle of the 
Atonement — substitutional suffering. How truly it may be said of 
God, "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness !" 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



295 



The council, having thus determined to put Jesus to 
death, deliberated, for the future, only upon the best 
methods of effecting it, and, in all probability, agreed to 
issue a proclamation promising a reward to any person 
who would deliver him into their hands. For this 
reason, our blessed Saviour did not now go up to J erusa- 
lem, though he was within two miles of it, but went to 
Ephraim, a city on the borders of the wilderness,* where 
he abode with his disciples, being unwilling to go far 
into the country, because the Passover, at which he was 
to suffer, was now at hand. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

THE GREAT PROPHET OF ISRAEL FORETELLS THE RUIN OF 
THE JEWISH STATE, AND ENFORCES MANY IMPORTANT 
DOCTRINES BY PARABLE — HE BLESSETH THE CHILDREN, AS 
EMBLEMS OF THE HEAVENLY AND CHRISTIAN TEMPER 
AND DISPOSITION. 

While the blessed Jesus remained in retirement at 
Ephraim, he was desired by some of the Pharisees to 
inform them when the Messiah's kingdom would com- 
mence-. Nor was their anxiety on that account a matter 
of surprise ; for, as they entertained very exalted notions 

* This town lay about seventeen miles north and cast of Jerusalem, 
beyond the boundary line of Judea. It was five miles northeast of Bethel 
in the border of Samaria. In 2 Chron. xiii. 19, 20, it is mentioned in con- 
nection with Bethel, as a city of some importance. 



296 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



of his coming in pomp and magnificence, it was natoal 
for them to be very desirous of having his empire 
speedily erected. But our Saviour, to correct this mis- 
taken notion, told them that the Messiah's kingdom did 
not consist in any external form of government, erected 
in some particular country by the terror of arms, and 
desolation of war ; but in the subjection of the minds of 
men, and in rendering them conformable to the laws of 
the Almighty, which was to be effected by a new dis- 
pensation of religion, and this dispensation was already 
begun. It was, therefore, needless for them to seek in 
this or that place for the kingdom of God ; as it had 
been already preached among them by Christ and his 
Apostles, and confirmed by innumerable miracles. " The 
kingdom of God," said he, cometh not with observa- 
tion. Neither shall they say, Lo here, or lo there ; for 
behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 
xvii. 20, 21. 

Having thus addressed the Pharisees, he turned him- 
self to his disciples, and in the hearing of all the people 
prophesied the destruction of the Jewish state ; whose 
administration, both religious and civil, was the chief 
difiiculty that opposed the erection of his kingdom. 
Luke xvii. 23. 

Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
warned them against mistakes as to his second coming, 
our blessed Saviour spake the following parable, in order 
to excite them to a constant perseverance in prayer, and 
not to be so weary and faint in their minds, as to neglect, 
or wholly omit, this necessary duty. 

There was in a city, said the Saviour of the world, 
a judge, who, being governed by atheistical principles, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



297 



had no regard to the precepts of religion, and being 
very powerful did not regard what was said of him by 
any man; so that all his decisions were influenced 
merely by passion or interest. In the same city was 
also a widow, who, having no friends to assist her, was 
absolutely unable to defend herself from injuries, or 
procure redress for any she had received. In this deplo- 
rable situation, she had recourse to the unjust judge, in 
order to obtain satisfaction for some oppressive wrong 
she had lately received ; but the judge was so abandoned 
to pleasure, that he refused, for a time, to listen to her 
request; he would not give himself the trouble to 
examine her case, though the crying injustice pleaded 
so powerfully for this distressed widow. She was not, 
however, intimidated by his refusal; she incessantly 
importuned him, till, by repeated representations of 
her distress, she filled his mind with such displeasing 
ideas, that he was obliged to do her justice, merely to 
free himself from her importunity. " Though/' said he 
to himself, I fear not God, nor regard man, yet 
because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, 
lest, by her continual coming, she weary me." Luke 
xviii. 4, 5. 

Hear," said the blessed Jesus, ^^what the unjust 
judge saith ; and shall not God avenge his own elect, 
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long 
with them ? I tell you, that he will avenge them speed- 
ily." Luke xviii. 6, etc. As if he had said, if this 
man, though destitute of the fear either of God or man, 
was thus prompted to espouse the cause of the widow, 
shall not a righteous God, the Father of his people, 
avenge on the wi ^ked the mony evils they have done 



298 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



unto them, though he bear long with them ? Certainly 
he will, and that in a most awful manner. 

Our blessed Saviour having thus enforced the duty of 
prayer, in this expressive parable, asked the following 
apposite question : Nevertheless, when the Son of man 
Cometh, shall he find faith on the earth ?" As if he 
had said, notwithstanding all the miracles I have 
wrought, and the excellent doctrines I have delivered, 
shall I find, at my second coming, that faith among the 
children of men there is reason to expect ? Will not 
most of them be found to have abandoned the faith, and 
wantonly ask, " where is the promise of his coming ?" 

The blessed Jesus next rebuked the self-righteous 
Pharisees. But as these particulars are better illustra- 
ted by their opposites, he placed the character of this 
species of men in opposition to those of the humble ; 
describing the reception each class met with from the 
Almighty, in a parable of the Pharisee and Publican, 
who went up together to the temple, at the time when 
the sacrifice was offered, to direct their petitions to the 
God of their fathers. Luke xviii. 12. 

Specious as the Pharisee's behaviour may seem, his 
prayer was an abomination to the Lord ; while the poor 
Publican, who confessed his guilt, and implored mercy, 
was justified in the sight of God, rather than this arro- 
gant boaster. 

This parable sufficiently indicates that all the sons of 
men stand in need of mercy. Both the strict Pharisee 
and the despised Publican, with the whole race of man- 
kind, are sinners; and consequently all must implore 
pardon of their benevolent Creator. We must all ascend 
to the temple, and there pour forth our prayers before 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



299 



the throne of grace ; for there he has promised ever to 
be present, to grant the petitions of all who ask in 
sincerity and truth, through the Son of his love. 

These parables were spoken in the town of Ephraim : 
and during his continuance in that city, the Pharisees 
asked him, Whether he thought it lawful for a man to 
put away his wife for every cause ? Our Saviour had 
twice before declared his opinion of this particular, once 
in Galilee, and once in Perea; it is therefore probable 
that the Pharisees were not ignorant of his sentiments, 
and that they asked that question then, to find an oppor- 
tunity of incensing the people against him, well know- 
ing that the Israelites held the liberty which the law 
gave them of divorcing their wives as one of their chief 
privileges. But however that be, Jesus was far from 
fearing the popular resentment, and accordingly declared 
the third time against arbitrary divorces. '^'And I say 
unto you. Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it 
be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth 
adultery. And whoso marrieth her which is put away, 
doth commit adultery." Matt. xix. 9. '^And if a woman 
shall put away her husband, and be married to another, 
she committeth adultery." Mark x. 10, etc. 

The practice of unlimited divorces, which prevailed 
among the Jews, gave great encouragement to family 
quarrels, were very destructive of happiness, and hin 
dered the education of their common offspring. Besides, 
it greatly tended to make their children lose that rever- 
ence for them which is due to parents, as it was hardly 
possible for the children to avoid engaging in the quarrel. 

Our Lord's prohibition, therefore, of these divorces is 



300 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



founded on tlie strongest reasons, and greatly tends to 
promote the welfare of society. 

Our Saviour having, in the course of his ministry, 
performed innumerable cures, in different parts of the 
country, several persons, thinking, perhaps, that his 
power would be as great in preventing as in removing 
distempers, or certainly in securing their spiritual good, 
brought their children to him, desiring that he would 
put his hands upon them and bless them. The disciples, 
however, mistaking the intention, were angry with the 
persons, and rebuked them for endeavoring to give this 
trouble to their Master. But Jesus no sooner saw it,' 
than he was greatly displeased with his disciples, and 
ordered them not to hinder parents from bringing their 
children to him. Suffer little children to come unto 
me, and forbid then, not : for of such is the kingdom of 
God." Luke xviii. 16. 

Such are those, n a spiritual light, who are brought 
to a sense of theii sins, and humbled for them in the 
sight of God. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



301 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

OUR LORD DEPARTS FROM HIS RETIREMENT DECLARES THE 

ONLY WAY OF SALTATION SHOWS THE DUTY OF IM- 
PROVING THE MEANS OF GRACE BY THE PARABLE OF 
THE VINEYARD — PREDICTION OF HIS SUFFERING, AND 
CONTENTION OF THE DISCIPLES ABOUT PRECEDENCE IN 
HIS KINGDOM. 

The period of our blessed Saviour's passion now 
approaching, he departed from Ephraim, and repaired, 
by the way of Jericho, toward J erusalem ; but before 
he arrived at Jericho, a ruler of the synagogue came 
running to him, and kneeling down before him, asked 
him, " Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that 
I may have eternal life?" Matt. xix. 16. 

Though this young ruler pretended to pay great honoi 
to our dear Redeemer, yet the whole was no more than 
a piece of mockery. For though he styled him good," 
yet he did not believe that he was sent from God, as 
sufficiently appears from his refusing to observe the 
counsel given him by Jesus : nor could his artful insinu- 
ations escape the piercing eye of the great Saviour of the 
world. Our blessed Saviour, therefore, willing to make 
him sensible of his secret desire of possessing the riches 
of this world, told him, that if he aimed at perfection, 
he should distribute his possessions among the poor and 
indigent, and become his disciple. If thou wilt be 
perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, 
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come and 



302 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



follow me. But when the young man heard that 
saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great pos- 
sessions." Matt. xix. 21, 22. 

This melancholy instance of the pernicious influence 
of riches over the minds of the children of men, induced 
our blessed Saviour to caution his disciples against 
fixing their minds on things of such frightful tendency, 
by showing how very difficult it was for a rich man to 
procure a habitation in the regions of eternal happiness. 

Yerily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly 
enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say 
unto you, It is easier for a camel" [i. e. a cable, or large 
rope) "to go through the eye of a needle, than for a 
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. "When his 
disciples heard it they were exceedingly amazed, saying. 
Who then can be saved ? But Jesus beheld them, and 
said unto them. With men this is impossible, but with 
God all things are possible." Matt. xix. 23, etc. By 
the assistance of grace, which the Almighty never refuses 
to those who seek it with their whole heart, it is 
possible. 

This answer of the blessed Jesus was, however, far 
from satisfying his disciples, who had, doubtless, often 
reflected with pleasure on the high posts they were to 
enjoy in their Master's kingdom. Peter seems particu- 
larly to have been disappointed : and therefore addressed 
his Master, in the name of the rest, begging him to 
remember that his Apostles had actually done what the 
young man had refused. They had abandoned their 
relations, their friends, their possessions, and their 
employments, on his account : and therefore desired to 
know what reward they were to expect for these 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



303 



instances of their obedience ? To which Jesus replied, 
that they should not fail of a reward, even in this life ; 
for immediately after his resurrection, when he ascended 
to his Father, and entered on his mediatorial office, 
they should be advanced to the honor of judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel ; that is, of spiritually ruling the 
church of Christ, which they were to plant in different 
parts of the earth. Verily, I say unto you, that ye 
which have followed me in the regeneration, when the 
Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also 
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel." Matt. xix. 28. 

Having given this answer to Peter, he next mentioned 
the rewards his other disciples should receive, both in 
this world and in that which is to come. They, said he, 
who have forsaken all for my sake, shall be no losers in 
the end. Divine Providence will take care they have 
every thing valuable that can be given them by their 
relations, or they could desire from large possessions. 
They shall, indeed, be fed with the bread of sorrow, but 
this shall produce joys to which all the earthly pleasures 
bear no proportion ; and, in the end, obtain everlasting 
life. Things shall then be reversed, and those who 
have been reviled and contemned on earth, for the sake 
of the gospel, shall be exalted to honor, glory and 
immortality : while the others shall be consigned to 
eternal infamy. But many that are first shall be last, 
and the last shall be first." Matt. xix. 30. 

To excite their ardent pressing forward in faith and 
good works, our Lord relates the parable of the house- 
holder, who, at different hours of the day, hired laborers 
to work in his vineyard. 



304 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



The glorious gospel, with all its blessings, was be- 
stowed entirely by the free grace of God, and without 
any thing in men to merit it; besides, it was offered 
promiscuously to all, whether good or bad, and embraced 
by persons of all characters. The conclusion of the 
parable deserves our utmost attention ; we should medi- 
tate upon it, and take care to make our calling and 
election sure. Matt. xx. 1-16. 

After Jesus had finished these discourses, he continued 
his journey toward Jerusalem, where the chief priests 
and elders, soon after the resurrection of Lazarus, had 
issued a proclamation, promising a reward to any one 
who should apprehend him. In all probability, this was 
the reason why the disciples were astonished at the 
alacrity of our Lord during this journey, while they 
themselves followed him trembling. Jesus, therefore, 
thought proper to repeat the prophecies concerning his 
sufferings, in order to show his disciples that they were 
entirely voluntary : adding, that though the Jews should 
put him to death, yet, instead of weakening, it should 
increase their faith, especially as he would rise again^ 
the third day, from the dead. " Behold we go up to 
Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the 
prophets concerning the Son of man, shall be accom- 
plished : For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, 
and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated, and spitted 
on : and they shall scourge him, and put him to death ; 
and the third day he shall rise again." Luke xviii. 32, 3.3. 

As this prediction manifestly tended to the confirma- 
tion of the ancient prophecies, it must have given the 
greatest encouragement to his disciples, had they under- 
stood and applied it in a proper manner ; but they did 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



305 



not. And they understood none of these things ; and 
this saying was hid from them ; neither knew they the 
things which were spoken. 

The sons of Zebedee were so ignorant, that they 
thought their Master, by his telHng them that he would 
rise again from the dead, meant that he would then erect 
his empire, and accordingly begged that he would confer 
on them the chief posts in his kingdom ; which they 
expressed by desiring to be seated, the "one on his 
right hand, and the other on his left," in allusion to his 
placing the twelve apostles upon twelve thrones, judging 
the tribes of Israel. 

Bnt J esus told them they were ignorant of the nature 
of the honor they requested ; and since they desired to 
share with him in glory, asked them if they were willing 
to share with him also in his sufferings. " Ye know 
not what ye ask ; are ye able to drink of the cup that 
I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that 
I am baptized with ?" Matt. xx. 22. 

The two disciples, ravished with the prospect of the 
dignity they were aspiring after, replied, without hesita- 
tion, that they were both able and willing to share any 
hardship their Master might meet with, in the way to 
the kingdom. To which he answered that they should 
certainly share with him his troubles and afflictions : 
" Ye shall drink, indeed, of my cup, and be baptized 

The blinding power of early prejudice, confirmed in each individual 
by the prejudices of the community, and the concurrent teachings of the 
learned expositors of the Scriptures, was never more strikingly exemplified 
than here. Even faith in the Son of God often fails to pierce through the 
thick vail so firmly woven, until aided by some new influence of the Holy 
Spirit, or that development of divine Providence which has been happily 
called, in our time, "the logic of events." 
20 



306 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



with the baptism I am baptized with ; but to sit on my 
right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give but unto 
them for whom it is prepared by my Father." Matt. 
XX. 23. 

This ambitious request of the two brothers raised the 
indignation of the rest of the disciples, who, thinking 
themselves equally deserving the principal posts in the 
Messiah's kingdom, were highly offended at the arro- 
gance of the sons of Zebedee. Jesus, therefore, in order 
to restore harmony among his disciples, told them that 
his kingdom was very different from those of the present 
world, and the greatness of his disciples did not, like 
that of secular princes, consist in reigning over others 
in an absolute and despotic manner. " Ye know that 
the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, 
and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 
But it shall not be so among you ; but whosoever will 
be great among you, let him be your minister; and 
whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your 
servant : even as the Son of man came not to be minis- 
tered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom 
for many." Matt. xx. 25, etc. Ye know that rank 
and precedence pass for merit of character here : but 
Christian greatness and spiritual precedence consists in 
humility, love, and labor, of which Christ your Saviour 
was made an eminent pattern. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



307 



CHAPTEE XXYII. 

THE BENEVOLENT SAVIOUR RESTORES SIGHT TO THE BLIND AT 

JERICHO KINDLY REGARDS ZACCHEUS, THE PUBLICAN 

DELIVERS THE PARABLE OF THE SERVANTS ENTRUSTED 

WITH THEIR lord's MONEY ACCEPTS THE KIND OFFICES 

OF MARY MAKES A PUBLIC ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. 

JesuSj with his disciples, and the multitude that 
accompanied him, were now arrived at J ericho, a famous 
city of Palestine, and the second in the kingdom.* Near 
this town, Jesus cured two blind men, who sat by the 
road begging, and expressed their belief in him as the 
Messiah. " And as they departed from Jericho, a great 
multitude followed him. And behold, two blind men, 
sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus 
passed by, cried out, saying. Have mercy on us, 0 Lord, 
thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, 
because they should hold their peace ; but they cried 
the more, saying. Have mercy on us, 0 Lord, thou Son 
of David." Matt, xx, 29, etc. 

The importunate request had its desired effect on the 
Son of God. He stood still, and called them to him, 
that by their manner of walking, spectators might be 
convinced they were really blind. As soon as they 
approached him, he asked them, What they requested 
with such earnestness ? They say, Lord, that our 
eyes may be opened." This request was not made in 
vain ; their compassionate Saviour touched their eyes, 



308 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and immediately they received sight^ and followed him, 
glorifying and praising God.* 

Zaccheus, chief of the Publicans, having often heard 
the fame of our Saviour's miracles, was desirous of seeing 
his person ; but the lowness of his stature preventing 
him from satisfying his curiosity, he ran before, and 
climbed up a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to 
pass that way." As Jesus approached the place where 
he was, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, 
Zaccheus, make haste, and come down, for to-day I must 
abide at thy house." Luke xix. 5. 

The Pubhcan expressed his joy at our Lord's conde- 
scending to visit him, took him to his house, and showed 
him all the marks of civility in his power. But the 
people, when they saw he was going to the house of a 
Publican, condemned his conduct, as not conformable to 
the character of a prophet. Zaccheus seems to have 
heard these unjust reflections ; and, therefore, was wil- 
ling to justify himself before Jesus and his attendants. 

And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, 
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if 1 
have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, 
I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, 
This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as 
he also is a son of Abraham." Luke xix. 8, etc. 

Our Saviour, further to convince the people that the 

* Mark mentions but one of these blind men, probabl^r because the case 
of Bartimeus was so much more generall3' known to the people. His con- 
ciseness of style often shows itself by selecting only the more striking 
example out of several mentioned together by the other evangelists. 
There is nothing like contradiction in this. It is rather a striking and 
original mode of confirmation by an independent witness of all that is 
material to the point in hand — the miraculous power of Jesus. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



3C9 



design of his mission was to seek and to restore life and 
salvation to lost and perishing sinners, adds, The Son 
of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." 

While Jesus continued in the house of Zaccheus, the 
Publican, he spake a parable to his followers, who sup- 
posed, at his arrival in the royal city, he would erect the 
long-expected kingdom of the Messiah. "A certain 
nobleman," said he, went into a far country to receive 
for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his 
ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said 
unto them. Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, 
and sent a message after him, saying. We will not have 
this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that 
when he was returned, having received the kingdom, 
then he commanded those servants to be called unto 
him, to whom he had given the money, that he might 
know how much every man had gained by trading. 
Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained 
ten pounds. And he said unto him. Well, thou good 
servant : because thou hast been faithful in a very little, 
have thou authority over ten cities. And the second 
came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 
And he said likewise to him. Be thou also over five 
cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold here is 
thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin ; for 
I feared thee, because thou art an austere man : thou 
takest up that thou laidst not down, and reapest that 
thou didst not sow. And he said unto him. Out of thine 
own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou 
knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid 
not down, and reaping that I did not sow : Wherefore, 
then, gavest not thou my money into tlie bank, that at 



310 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



inj coming I might have required mine own with usury ? 
And he said unto them that stood by. Take from him 
the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds 
(and they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds). 
For I say unto you. That unto every one that hath shall 
be given ; and from him which hath not, even that he 
hath shall be taken away from him. But those, mine 
enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, 
bring hither, and slay them before me." Luke xix. 
12, etc. 

After speaking this parable, Jesus left the house of 
Zaccheus, the Publican, and continued his journey to 
Jerusalem, where he proposed to celebrate the Passover: 
he was earnestly expected by the people, who came to 
up to purify themselves, and who began to doubt 
whether he would venture to come to the feast. 

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, 
and repaired to the house of Lazarus, whom he had 
raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, 
and Martha served : but Lazarus was one of them that 
sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of 
ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the 
feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair : and the 
house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then 
said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, 
which should betray him. Why was not this ointment 
sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor ? 
This he said, not that he cared for the poor ; but because 
he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put 
therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone ; against the 
day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



311 



always ye have with you ; but me ye have not always/* 
John xii. 2, etc. 

As Bethany was not above two miles from J erusalem, 
the news of his arrival was soon spread through the 
capital, and great numbers of the citizens came to see 
Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead, together 
with the great Prophet who had wrought so stupendous 
a miracle, and many of them were convinced both of 
the resurrection of the former, and the divinity of the 
latter ; but the news of their conversion, together with 
the reason of it, being currently reported in Jerusalem, 
the chief priests were soon sensible of the weight so great 
a miracle must have on the minds of the people ; and 
therefore determined, if possible, to put both Jesus and 
Lazarus to death. 

Our blessed Lord, though he knew the design of 
the Jews upon him, also knew that it became him to 
fulfil all righteousness ; and was so far from declining 
to visit Jerusalem, that he even entered it in a public 
manner. When they were come to Bethphage* unto the 
Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto 
them, Go unto the village over against you, and straight- 
way ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her : loose 
them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say 
aught unto you, ye shall say, the Lord hath need of 
them, and straightway he will send them. All this was 
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the 
prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, 
thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an 

* Bethphage was a small village at the foot of Mount Olivet, on the 
eastern side, toward Jericho. It was near Bethany, a was famous foj 
the abundance of its figs. 



3.12 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ass^ and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples 
went and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought 
the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and 
they set him thereon. And a very great multitude 
spread their garments in the way : others cut down 
branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. 
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, 
cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David : blessed is 
he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the 
highest." Matt. xxi. 1-3, etc. 

The prodigious multitude that now accompanied Jesus 
filled the Pharisees and great men with malice and envy, 
because every method they had taken to hinder the 
people from following Jesus had proved ineffectual. 

The Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves. 
Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ? Behold, the 
world is gone after him." John xii. 19. 

But when our blessed Saviour drew near the city of 
Jerusalem, surrounded by the rejoicing multitude, not- 
withstanding the many affronts he had there received, 
he beheld the city, and with a divine generosity and 
benevolence which nothing can equal, wept over it, 
and, in the most pathetic manner, lamented the calami- 
ties which he saw were coming upon it, because its 
inhabitants were ignorant of the time of their visitation. 
^^If," said he, "thou hadst known, even thou, at least 
in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace ! 
but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days 
shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a 
trencli about thee, and compass thee round, and keep 
thee in on every side. And shall lay thee even with 
the ground, and thy children within thee; and they 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



313 



shall not leave in thee one stone upon another : because 
thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." Luke 
xix. 4:2, etc. 

Behold here, ye wondering mortals, behold an example 
of generosity infinitely superior to any furnished by the 
heathen world ! 

When Jesus, surrounded by the multitude, entered 
Jerusalem, the v/hole city was moved on account of the 
prodigious concourse of people that accompanied him, 
and their continual acclamations. Jesus rode imme- 
diately. to the temple ; but it being evening, he soon 
left the city, to the great discouragement of the people, 
who expected he was immediately to have taken into 
his hands the reins of government. '^And Jesus 
entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple ; and when 
he had looked round about upon all things, and now the 
even-tide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the 
twelve." Mark xi. 11. 



CHAPTER XXYIII. 

JESUS PRONOUNCES A CURSE UPON THE FIG TREE — EXPELS 

AGAIN THE PROFANERS OF THE TEMPLE ASSERTS HIS 

DIVINE AUTHORITY, AND DELIVERS TWO PARABLES. 

At the earliest dawn our blessed Saviour left Bethany 
to visit again the capital of Judea. As he pursued his 
journey, he saw, at a distance, a fig tree, which, from 
its fulness of leaves, promised abundance of fruit. This 



314 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



inviting object induced him to appioach it, in expectar 
tion of finding figs, for he was hungry, and the season 
for gathering them was not yet arrived; but on his 
coming to the tree, he found it to be really barren : 
apon which the blessed Jesus said to it, Let no fruit 
grow on thee henceforward forever." Matt. xxi. 19. 

Being disappointed in finding fruit on the fig tree, our 
blessed Saviour pursued his journey to Jerusalem ; and, 
on his arrival, went straightway to the temple, the outer 
court of which he again found full of merchandise. A 
sight like this vexed his meek and righteous -soul, so 
that he drove them all out of the temple, overturned the 
tables of the money changers, and the seats of them 
that sold doves, and would not suffer any vessel to be 
carried through the temple, saying unto them. It is 
written. My house is the house of prayer, but ye have 
made it a den of thieves." Luke xix. 46. 

Having dispersed this venal tribe, the people brought 
unto him the blind, the lame, and the diseased, who 
were all healed by the Son of God ; so that the very 
children, when they saw the many miraculous cures he 
performed, proclaimed him to be the great Son of David, 
the long expected Messiah. 

Such behaviour not a little incensed the Pharisees : 
but they feared the people, and therefore only asked 
him, if he heard what the children said ? insinuating, 
that he ought to rebuke them, and not suffer them thus 
to load him with the highest praises. But J esus, instead 
of giving a direct answer to their question, repeated a 
passage out of the eighth Psalm. Have ye never read, 
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou 
ordained strength T Giving them to understand, that 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



315 



the very least of God's works have been made instru- 
mental in spreading his praise. 

During the time the blessed Jesus remained in the 
temple, certain proselyted Greeks,* who came up to 
worship at Jerusalem, desired to see him, having long 
cherished expectations of beholding the promised Mes- 
siah. Accordingly, they applied to Philip, a native of 
Bethsaida, who mentioned it to Andrew, and he told it 
to Jesus. Upon which our blessed Saviour told his dis- 
ciples that he should soon be honored with the conver- 
sion of' the Gentiles : The hour is come," said he, 
"Hhat the Son of man should be glorified." But he 
declared, that before this glorious event happened, he 
must suffer death ; illustrating the necessity there was 
of his dying, by the similitude of casting grain into the 
earth. ^'Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn 
of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone : 
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John xii. 
24. Adding, that since it was absolutely necessary for 
him, their Lord and Master, to suffer the pains of death 
before he ascended the throne of his glory ; so they, as 
his followers, must also expect to be persecuted and 
ripitefully used for his name's sake ; but if they perse- 
vered, and even resolved to lose their lives in his service, 
he would reward their constancy with a crown of glory 
At the same time he intimated, that the strangers, if 
their desire of conversing with him proceeded from a 
hope of obtaining from him temporal preferments, would 
find themselves sadly disappointed. If any man serve 



^ Greeks, in the New Testament, represent all Gentiles in distinction 
from Jews. 



316 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



fLie^ let him follow me ; and where I am, there shall 
also my servant be : if any man serve me, him will my 
Father honor." John xii. 26. 

Our blessed Lord was now so affected, in the near 
view of his cross, that he addressed his heavenly Father 
for succor in his distress. Now is my soul troubled : 
and what shall I say ? Father, save me from this hour : 
but for this cause came I unto this hour." John 
xii. 27. 

Our blessed Lord having made a short prayer to his 
Father, begged him to demonstrate the truth of his 
mission by some token which could not be resisted. 

Father, glorify thy name." Nor had he hardly uttered 
these words, before he was answered by an audible 
voice from heaven, ^' I have both glorified it, and will 
glorify it again." 

This voice was evidently preternatural, resembling 
thunder in loudness, but sufficiently articulate to be 
understood by those who heard our blessed Saviour pray 
to his heavenly Father. And Jesus told his disciples 
that it was not given for his sake, but to confirm them 
in the faith of his mission. ^'This voice," said he^ 
came not because of me, but for your sakes." It came 
to confirm what I have told you relating to my suffer- 
ings, death, resurrection, and the conversion of the 
Gentile world to the Christian religion. 

The kingdom of Satan shall be destroyed, and that 
of the Messiah exalted. ^' Now is the judgment of this 
world : now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
men unto me." John xii. 31, etc. 

The people, not unde^^standing the force of this affir* 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



317 



mation, replied, " We have heard, out of the law, that 
Christ abideth forever : and how sayest thou, the Son 
of man must be lifted up ?" John xii. 34. Our Lord, 
in answer, told them, that they should soon be deprived 
of his presence and miracles ; and, therefore, they would 
do well to listen attentively to his precepts, firmly 
believe the doctrines he delivered, and wisely improve 
them to their eternal advantage; for otherwise they 
would be soon overtaken with spiritual blindness, and 
rendered incapable of inheriting the promises of the 
gospel. That while they enjoyed the benefit of his 
preaching and miracles, which sufficiently proved the 
truth of his mission from the Most High, they should 
believe on him : for by that means alone they could 
become the children of God. Yet a little while is the 
light with you ; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth 
not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe 
in the light, that ye may be the children of light." J ohn 
xii. 35, etc. ^ 

But notwithstanding the many miracles our great 
Redeemer had wrought in presence of these perverse 
and stiff-necked people, the generality of them refused 
to own him for the Messiah ; being filled with the vain 
expectations of a temporal prince, who was to rule over 
all the kingdoms of the earth, and place his throne in 
Jerusalem. Some, indeed, even of the rulers, believed 
on him, though they thought it prudent to conceal /their 
faith, lest they should, like the blind man, be excom- 
municated, or put out of the synagogue ; valuing the good 
opinion of men above the approbation of the Almighty. 

Nevertheless, to inspire such as believed on hirri with 
courage, he cried in the temple, " He that believe th on 



318 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me." 
John xii. 44. He that acknowledges the divinity of 
my mission, acknowledges the power and grace of God, 
on whose special errand I am thus sent. Adding, he 
that seeth the miracles I perform, seeth the operations 
of that Omnipotent Power by which I act. I am the 
Sun of righteousness, whose beams dispel the darkness 
of ignorance in which the sons of men are involved, and 
am come to deliver all who believe on me out of that 
palpable darkness. You must not, however, expect 
that I will at present execute my judgment upon those 
who refuse to embrace the doctrines of the gospel ; for I 
am not come to condemn and punish, but to save the 
world, and consequently to try every gentle and winning 
method to reclaim the wicked from the error of their 
ways, and turn their feet into the paths of lile and sal- 
vation. They shall not, however, escape unpunished^ 
who neglect the instructions and offers of salvation now 
made to them ; for the doctrines I have preached shall 
bear witness against them at the awful tribunal of the 
last day ; and as it has aggravated their sin, so shall it 
then heighten their punishment. 

While Jesus was thus preaching in the temple, a 
deputation of priests and elders was sent from the 
supreme council, to ask him concerning the nature of 
the authority by which he acted, whether it was that 
of a prophet, priest, or king, as no other person had a 
right to make any alterations, either in church or state. 
And if he laid claim to either of those characters, from 
whom he received it ? But our blessed Saviour, instead 
of giving a direct answer to the questions of the Phari- 
sees, asked them another ; promising, if they resolved 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



319 



his question, he would also answer theirs. I also, will 
ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in likewise 
will tell you by what authority I do these things. The 
baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or ol 
men ?" Matt. xxi. 24, etc. 

This question puzzled the priests. They considered, 
on the one hand, that if it was from God, it would 
oblige them to acknowledge the authority of Jesus, 
John having, more than once, publicly declared him to 
be the Messiah ; and on the other, if they peremptorily 
denied the authority of John, they would be in danger 
of being stoned by the people, who, in general, consid- • 
ered him as a prophet. They, therefore, thought it 
the most eligible method to answer, that they could 
not tell from whence John's baptism was. 

Thus, by declining to answer the question asked them 
by Jesus, they left him at liberty to decline giving the 
council the satisfaction they had sent to demand. At 
the same time they plainly confessed, that they were 
unable to pass any opinion on John the Baptist, not- 
withstanding he claimed the character of a messenger 
from God, and they had sent to examine his pretensions. 
This was in effect, to acknowledge that they were inca- 
pable of judging of any prophet whatsoever. Well, 
therefore, might the blfessed Jesus say, " Neither tell I 
you by what authority I do these things." You have 
no right to ask, since you have confessed you are unable 
to judge ; and, therefore, I shall not satisfy your inquiry. 

But because this deputation had said, that they were 
ignorant from whence the baptism of John was, our 
blessed Saviour sharply rebuked them, conveying his 
reproof in the parable of the two sons commanded to 



320 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



work in their father's vineyard, and by asking their 
opinion of the two, made them condemn themselves. 

The blessed Jesus did not only rebuke them for 
rejecting the preaching of the Baptist, but represented 
the crime of the nation, in rejecting all the prophets 
which had been sent since they became a nation ; among 
the rest, the only begotten Son of the Most High ; 
warning them, at the same time, of their danger, and 
the punishment that would inevitably ensue, if they 
continued in their rebellion. The outward economy of 
religion, in which they gloried, would be taken from 
them ; their relation to God, as his people, cancelled ; 
and the national constitution destroyed : but because 
these topics were extremely disagreeable, he delivered 
them under the vail of a parable : There was," said 
he, a certain householder which planted a vineyard, 
and hedged it round about, and digged a wine-press in 
it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and 
went into a far country," etc. Matt. xxi. 38. 

Shocked at this awful representation, the Phari- 
sees exclaimed, God forbid ;" surely these husbandmen 
will not proceed to such desperate iniquity ; surely the 
vineyard will not thus be taken from them. But to 
confirm the truth of this, our Saviour added a remark- 
able prophecy of himself, and his rejection, cxviii. 
Psalm. " Did you never," said he, " read in the Scrip- 
tures, The stone which the builders refused, is become 
the head-stone of the corner ; this is the Lord's doing, it 
is marvellous in our eyes ?" The rejection of the Mes- 
siah by the Jews, and the reception he met with among 
the Gentiles, all brought to pass by the providence of 
God, are wonderful events ^ and therefore I say unto 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



321 



you^ the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and 
given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." 
Matt. xxi. 38. 

The chief priests and Pharisees being afraid to appre- 
hend' JesuSj he was at liberty to proceed in the officer 
of his ministry. Accordingly he delivered another 
parable, wherein he described, on the one hand, the bad 
success which the preaching of the gospel was to meet 
with among the J ews 5 and, on the other^ the cheerlul 
reception given it among the Gentiles. This gracious 
design of the Almighty, in giving the gospel to the 
children of men, our blessed Saviour illustrated by the 
# behavior of a certain king, who, in honor of his son, 
made a great feast, to which he invited many guests. 

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, 
which made a marriage for his son." This marriage 
'supper, or great feast, signifies the joys of heaven, 
which are properly compared to an elegant entertain- 
ment, on account of their exquisiteness and duration; 
and are here said to be prepared in honor of the Son 
of God, because they are bestowed on men in conse- 
quence of his sufferings in their stead and behalf. 

Some time before the supper was ready, the servants 
went forth to call the guests to the wedding; i. e., 
when the fulness of time approached, the Jews, as being 
the peculiar people of God, were first called by John 
the Baptist, and afterward by Christ himself ; but they 
refused all these benevolent calls of mercy, and rejected 
the kind invitations of the gospel, though pressed by 
the preaching of the Messiah, and his forerunner. 
After our Saviour's resurrection and ascension, the apos- 
tles were sent forth to inform the Jews that the gospel 
21 



322 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



covenant was established^ mansions in heaven prepared, 
and nothing wanting but the cheerful acceptance of the 
honor designed them. Again he sent forth other ser- 
vants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I 
have prepared my dinner ; my oxen and my fatlings are 
killed, and all things are ready : come unto the mar- 
riage." But these messengers were as unsuccessful as 
the former. The Jews, undervaluing the favor offered 
them, mocked at the message ; and some of them, more 
rude than the rest, insulted, beat, and slew the servants 
that had been sent to call them to the marriage supper 
of the Lamb. " But when the king heard thereof he was 
wroth; and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed 
those murderers, and burnt up their city." This part 
of the parable plainly predicted the destruction of the 
Jews by the Roman armies, called here the armies of 
the Almighty, because they were appointed by him to' 
execute vengeance on that once favorite, but now rebel- 
lious people. 

The parable is then continued, as follows : The king 
again sent forth his servants into the countries of the 
Gentiles, with orders to compel all that they met with 
to come into the marriage. This was immediately 
done, and the wedding was furnished with guests ; but 
when the king came into the apartment, he saw there 
a man which had not a wedding garment ; and he saith 
unto him. Friend, how comest thou in hither, not having 
a wedding garment ? And he was speechless. Then 
said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, 
and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness : 
there shall be weeping and gnashiiig of teeth. For 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



many are called, but few are chosen." Matt. xxii. 
11, etc. 

By the conclusion of the parable, we learn that the 
profession of the Christian religion will not save a man, 
unless he acts from Christian principles. Let us, there- 
fore, who have obeyed the call, and are by profession 
the people of God, think often on that awful day, when 
the king will come in to see his guests; when the 
Almighty will, with the greatest strictness, view every 
soul that lays claim to the joys of heaven. Let us 
think of the speechless confusion that will seize such as 
have not on the wedding garment, and of the inexorable 
anxiety with which they will be consigned to weeping 
and gnashing of teeth : and let us remember, that to 
have seen for awhile the light of the gospel, and the 
fair beamings of an eternal hope, will add deeper and 
more sensible horrors to these gloomy caverns. On the 
other hand, to animate and encourage us, let us antici- 
pate the joyful hour which will consign us to bliss im- 
mortal. 



324 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

THE BLESSED JESUS WISELY RETORTS ON THE PHARISEES 
AND HERODIANS, WHO PROPOUND AN INTRICATE QUES- 
TION TO HIM SETTLES THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT OF 

THE LAW ENFORCES HIS MISSION AND DOCTRINE, AND 

FORETELLS THE JUDGMENT THAT WOULD FALL UPON THE 
PHARISAICAL TRIBE. 

This representation of the state of the finally impeni- 
tent, appearing to be levelled at the Pharisees, they im- 
mediately concerted with the Herodians and Sadducees, 
on the most proper method of putting Jesus to death. 
It is sufficiently evident, that their hatred was now 
carried to the highest pitch, because the most violent 
enmity which had so long subsisted between the two 
sects, was, on this occasion suspended, and they< joined 
together to execute their cruel determination on the 
Son of God. They, however, thought it most eligible 
to act very cautiously, and endeavor, if possible, to catch 
some hasty expression from him, that they might render 
him odious to the people, and procure something against 
him that might serve as a basis for a persecution. 

Accordingly, they sent some of their disciples to him, 
with orders to feign themselves just men, who main- 
tained the greatest veneration for the divine law, and 
dreaded nothing more than the doing any thing incon 
sistent with its precepts : and, under this specious cloak 
of hypocrisy, to beg his determination of an affair that 
had long lain heavy on their consciences ; namely, the 
paying tribute to Caesar, which they thought inconsis- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



325 



tent with their zeal for religion. Master," said they, 

we know that thou art true, and carest for no man : 
for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest 
the way of God in truth. Tell us, therefore, what 
thinkest thou. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or 
not?" Mark xii. 14. 

But the blessed Jesus saw their secret intentions, and 
accordingly called them hypocrites, to signify that 
though they made conscience, and a regard for the 
divine will, their pretence for proposing this question, 
he saw through the thin vail that concealed their 
design from the eyes of mortals, and knew that their 
intention was to ensnare him. 

He, however, did not decline answering their ques- 
tion, but previously desired to see a piece of the tribute 
money. The piece was accordingly produced, and 
proved to be coined by the Romans. Upon which our 
blessed Saviour answered them, since this money bears 
the image of Caesar, it is his, and by making use of it, 
you acknowledge his authority. But at the same time 
that you discharge your duty to the civil magistrate, 
you should never forget the duty you owe to your God ; 
but remember, that as you bear the image of the great, 
the omnipotent King, you are his subjects, and ought 
to pay him the tribute of yourselves, serving him to the 
very utmost of your power. 

The Pharisees and their followers, under a pretence 
of religion, often justified sedition ; but the Ilerodians, 
in order to ingratiate themselves with the reigning 
powers, made them a compliment of their consciences, 
complying with whatever they enjoined, however oppo- 
site their commands might be to the divine law. Our 



326 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Lordj therefore, adapted his answer to them both, 
exhorting them, in their regards to God and the magis- 
trate, to give each his due ; there being no inconsistency 
between their rights, when their rights only are insisted 
on. 

So unexpected an answer quite disconcerted and 
silenced these crafty enemies. They were astonished, 
both at his having discovered their design, and his 
wisdom in avoiding the snare they had so artfully laid 
for him. When they had heard these words, they 
marvelled, and left him, and went their way." Matt, 
xxii. 22. 

Though our Lord thus wisely obviated their crafty 
designs, enemies came against him from every quarter. 
The Sadducees, who denied the doctrine of a future 
state, together with the existence of angels and spirits, 
came forward to the charge ; proposing to him their 
strongest arguments against the resurrection, which they 
deduced from the law given by Moses, with regard to 
marriage. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife 
of them is she ? for seven had her to wife." Luke xx. 
28, etc. 

The Sadducees considered it as a necessary conse- 
quence of the doctrine of the resurrection, or a future 
state, that every man's wife should be restored to him. 
But this argument our blessed Saviour soon confuted. 
He also observed, that the nature of the life obtained 
in a future state made marriage altogether superfluous, 
because in the world to come, men being spiritual and 
immortal, lik * the angels, there was no need of natural 
means to propagate or continue the kind. Ye do err," 
said the blessed Jesus, " not knowing the Scriptures, nor 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



327 



the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither 
marry nor are given in marriage." Matt. xxii. 29, 30, 

Neither can they die any more ; for they are equal 
unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the 
children of the resurrection." Luke xx. 36. Hence 
we may observe, that good men are called the children 
of the Most High, from their inheritance at the resur- 
rection, and particularly on account of their being 
adorned with immortality. 

Having thus shown their folly and unbelief, he pro- 
ceeded to show that they were also ignorant of the 
Scriptures, and particularly of the writings of Moses, 
from whence they had drawn their objection, by demon- 
strating, from the very law itself, the certainty of a 
resurrection, at least that of just men, and consequently, 
quite demolished the opinion of the Sadducees, who, by 
believing the materiality of the soul, affirmed that men 
were annihilated at their death, and that their opinion 
was founded on the writings of Moses. Now," said 
our Saviour, "that the dead are raised, even Moses 
showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God 
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the 
living; for all live unto him." Luke xx. 37, 38. 
Consequently they were not annihilated, as you pretend, 
but are still in being, and continue to be the servants of 
the Most High. 

This argument effectually silenced the Sadducees, and 
agreeably surprised the people, to see the objection 
hitherto thought impregnable totally abolished, and the 
sect they had long abominated fully confuted. And 



328 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at 
his doctrine." Matt. xxii. 33. 

Nor could even the Pharisees refrain from giving the 
Saviour of mankind the praise due to his superlative 
wisdom ; for one of the Scribes desired him to give his 
opinion on a question often debated among their teach- 
ers ; namely, which was the great commandment of the 
law ? The true reason for their proposing this question, 
was, to try whether he was as well acquainted with the 
sacred law, and the debates that had arisen on different 
parts of it, as he was in deriving arguments from the 
inspired writers, to destroy the tenets of those who 
denied a future state. 

In order to understand the question proposed to our 
blessed Saviour by the Scribe, it is necessary to observe, 
that some of the most learned rabbis had declared, that 
the law of sacrifice was the great commandment ; some 
that it was the law of circumcision; and others that 
the law of meats and washings had merited that title. 

Our blessed Saviour, however, showed that they were 
all mistaken ; and that the great commandment of the 
law is the duty of piety : and particularly mentioned 
that comprehensive summary of it, given by Mos^s : 
" Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord ; and 
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with 
all thy strength. This is the first commandmeiit." 
Mark xii. 29, 30. 

The first and chief commandment is, to give God our 
hearts. The Divine Being is so transcendantly amiable 
in himself, and hath, by the innumerable benefits con- 
ferred upon us, such a title to our utmost affection, that 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



329 



no obligation bears any proportion to that of loving 
him. The honor assigned to this precept proves^ that 
piety is the noblest act of the human mind ; and that 
the chief ingredient in piety is love, founded on a clear 
and extensive view of the divine perfections, a perma- 
nent sense of his benefits, and a deep conviction of his 
being the sovereign good, our portion and our happiness. 

Our blessed Saviour having thus answered the ques- 
tion put to him by the Scribe, added that the second 
commandment was that which enjoined the love of our 
neighbor. 

This had, indeed, no relation to the lawyer's question 
concerning the first commandment ; yet our blessed 
Lord thought proper to show him which was the second, 
probably because the men of his sect did not acknowl- 
edge the importance and precedency of love to their 
neighbors, or because they were remarkably deficie'nt 
in the practice of it, as Jesus himself had often found 
in their attempts to kill him. ^'And the second is like 
unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

Without love, a narrowness of soul will shut us up 
within ourselves, and make all we do to others only as 
a sort of merchandize, trading for our own advantage. 
It is love only that opens our heart to consider other 
persons, and to love them on their own account, or 
rather on account of God, who is love. 

The Scribe was astonished at the justness of our 
Saviour's decisions, and answered. That he had deter- 
mined rightly, since there is but one supreme God, 
whom we must all adore : and if we love him above all 
temporal things, and our neighbor as ourselves, we wor- 



330 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

ship him more acceptably than if we sacrifice to him 

all the cattle upon a thousand hills." 

Our blessed Lord highly applauded the piety and 
wisdom of this reflection, by declaring that the person 
who made it was not far from the kingdom of God. 

As the Pharisees, during the course of our Saviour's 
ministry, had proposed to him many difficult questions, 
with intent to prove his prophetical gift, he now, in his 
turn, thought proper to make a trial of their knowledge 
in the sacred writings. For this purpose he asked their 
opinion of a difficulty concerning the Messiah's pedigree. 

What think ye of Christ ? Whose son is he ? They say 
unto him. The son of David." Matt. xxii. 42. I know, 
answered Jesus, you say Christ is the son of David ; but 
how can they support their opinion, or render it consis- 
tent with the words of David, who himself calls him 
Lord ? and " how is he his son ?" It seems the Jewish 
doctors did not imagine that their Messiah would be en- 
dowed with any perfections greater than those that 
might be enjoyed by human nature ; for though they 
called him the Son of God, they had no notion that he 
had a divine power from heaven, and therefore could 
not pretend to solve the difficulty. 

The latter question, however, might have convinced 
them of their error. Since, he rules over not only those 
of former ages, but even over the kings from whom he 
was himself descended, and his kingdom comprehends 
the men of all countries and times, past, present, and to 
come ; the doctors, if they had thought accurately upon 
the subject, should have expected in their Messiah a 
king different from all other kings. Besides, he is to sit 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



331 



at God's right hand, "till all his enemies are made his 
footstool." 

Such solid reasoning gave the people a high opinion 
of his wisdom ; and showed them how far superior he 
was to their most renowned rabbis, whose arguments to 
prove their opinions, and answers to the objections 
which were raised against them, were, in general, very 
weak and trifling. Nay, his foes themselves, from the 
repeated proofs they had received of the prodigious 
depth of his understanding, were impressed with such 
an opinion of his wisdom, that they judged it impossible 
to entangle him in his talk. Accordingly, they left off 
attempting it, and from that day forth, troubled him no 
more with their insidious questions. 

The above discourses greatly incensed the Scribes and 
Pharisees, as they were pronounced in the hearing of 
many of that order; it is, therefore, no wonder that 
they watched every opportunity to destroy him. But 
this was not a time to put their bloody designs in exe- 
cution ; the people set too high a value on his doctrine, 
to suffer any violence to be offered to his person ; and as 
this was the last sermon he was ever to preach in public, 
it was necessary that he should use some severity, as all 
his mild persuasions proved ineffectual. 

He therefore denounced, in the most solemn manner, 
dreadful woes against them, not on account of the per- 
sonal injuries he had received from them, but on account 
of their excessive wickedness. 

They were public teachers of religion ; and therefore 
should have used every method in their power to recom- 
mend its precepts to the people, and to have been them- 
selves shining examples of every duty it enjoined : ]mt, 



/ 



332 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

on the contrary, they abused every mark and character 
of goodness for all the purposes of villany, and under 
the cloak of a severe and sanctified aspect, they were 
malicious, implacable, lewd, covetous, and rapacious. 
In a word, instead of being reformers, they were the 
corrupters of mankind, and consequently their wicked- 
ness deserved the greatest reproof that could be given 
by the great Kedeemer of mankind. " Wo unto you, 
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye shut up the 
kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go in 
yourselves, neither suffer ye them that were entering to 
go in. Wo unto you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye devour widows' houses, and for a j)retence make 
long prayers ; therefore ye shall receive the greater 
damnation. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
crites ! for ye compass sea and land to make one prose- 
lyte, and, when he is made, ye make him twofold more 
the child of hell than yourselves." Matt, xxiii. 
13, etc. 

He added that the divine Being was desirous' of 
trying every method for their conversion, though all 
these instances of mercy were slighted, and that they 
must expect such terrible vengeance, as should be a 
standing monument of the divine displeasure against all 
the murders committed by the sons of men from the 
foundation of the world. 

Having thus laid before them their heinous guilt and 
punishment, he was, at the thought of the calamities 
which were soon to fall upon them, exceedingly moved, 
and his breast filled with sensations of pity to such a 
degree, that, unable to contain himself, he broke forth 
into tears, bewailing the hard lot of the city of Jerusa- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ooo 



lem : for as its inhabitants had more deeply imbrued 
their hands in the blood of the prophets, they were to 
drink more deeply of the punishment due to such crimes. 

0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the proph- 
ets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how 
often would I have gathered thy children together, even 
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and 
ye would not ! Behold your house is left unto you 
desolate." 

By the word house," our blessed Saviour meant the 
temple, which was from that time to be left unto them 
desolate ; the glory of the Lord, which Haggai had pro- 
phesied should fill the second house, was now departing 
from it. Adding : I say unto you. Ye shall not see me 
henceforth, till ye shall say. Blessed is he that cometh 
in the name of the Lord." Matt, xxiii. 39. As if he 
had said, As ye have killed the prophets, and persecuted 
me whom the Father hath sent from the courts of 
heaven, and will shortly put me, who am the Lord of 
the temple, to death, your holy house shall be left deso- 
late, and your nation totally deserted by me ; nor shall 
you see me any more till ye shall acknowledge the 
dignity of my character, and the importance of my mis- 
sion, and say with the whole earth, Blessed is he that 
cometh in the name of the Lord." 

Thus did the blessed Jesus strip the Scribes and 
Pharisees of their hypocritical mask. He treated them 
with severity, because their crimes were of the blackest 
dye : and hence we should learn to be really good, and 
not flatter ourselves that we can cover our crimes, with 
the cloak of hypocrisy, from that piercing eye from 
which nothing is concealed. 



334 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



The people could not fail being astonished at these 
discourses, as they had always considered their teachers 
as the most righteous among the sons of men. Nay, the 
persons themselves, against whom they were levelled, 
were confounded, because their own consciences con- 
vinced them of the truth of every particular laid to their 
charge. They therefore knew not what course to pur- 
sue ; and in the midst of their hesitation, they let Jesus 
depart without making any attempt to seize him, or 
inflict on him any kind of punishment 



CHAPTER XXX. 

OUR SAVIOUR COMMENDS EVEN THE SMALLEST ACT PROCEEli- 

ING FROM A TRULY BENEVOLENT MOTIVE PREDICTS THE 

DEMOLITION OF THE MAGNIFICENT TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM. 
AND DELIVERS SEVERAL INSTRUCTIVE PARABLES. 

Jesus, some time after, repaired with his disciples 
mto the court of the temple, called the treasury, from 
several chests being fixed to the pillars of the portico 
surrounding the court, for receiving " the offerings of 
those who came to worship in the temple. While he 
continued in this court, he " beheld how the people cast 
money into the treasury, and many that were rich oast 
in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and 
she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And 
he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them. 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



335 



Verily, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast 
more in than all they which have cast into the treasury. 
For all they did cast in of their abundance ; but she of 
her want did cast in all that she had, even all her 
living." Mark xii. 41, etc. 

Though the offering given by this poor widow was in 
itself very small, yet, in proportion to the goods of life 
she enjoyed, it was remarkably large ; for it was all she 
had, even all her living. In order, therefore, to encour- 
age charity, and show that it is the disposition of the 
mind, not the magnificence of the offering, that attaches 
th6 regard of the Almighty, the Son of God applauded 
this poor widow, as having given more in proportion 
than any of the rich. Their offerings, though great in 
respect to hers, were but a small part of their estates ; 
whereas her offering was her whole stock. And from 
this passage of the gospel we should learn that the 
poor, who in appearance are denied the means of doing 
charitable offices, are encouraged to do all they can. 
For, how small soever the gift may be, the Almighty, 
who beholds the heart, values it, not according to what 
it is in itself, but according to the disposition with which 
it is given. 

On the other hand, we should learn from hence that 
it is not enough for the rich that they exceed the poor 
in gifts of charity : they should bestow in proportion to 
their income ;* and they would do well to remember 
that a little given, where a little only is left, appears a 
much nobler offering in the sight of the Almighty, and 

* If this be a just rule in raising the national revenue, why is it not 
equally just as the basis of a man's charities ? 1 Cor. xvi. 2 ; 2 Cor. viii. 
13-16. Yet how few observe it ! 



336 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



discovers a more benevolent and humane temper of 
mind, than sums much larger bestowed out of a plenti- 
ful abundance. 

The disciples now remembered that their Master, at 
the conclusion of his pathetic lamentation over Jerusa- 
lem,* had declared that the temple should not any more 
be favored with his presence, till they should say. 

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." 
A declaration of this kind could not fail of greatly sur- 
prising his disciples ; and therefore, as he was departing 
from the sacred structure, they desired him to observe 
the beauty of the building, insinuating that they thought 
it strange that he should intimate an intention of leaving 
it desolate ; that so glorious a fabric, celebrated in every 
corner of the earth, was not to be deserted rashly ; and 
that they should think themselves supremely happy 
when he, as the Messiah, and descendant of David, 
should take possession of it and erect his throne in the 
midst of Jerusalem. And, as they went out of the tem- 
ple, one of his disciples said unto him, Master, see 
what manner of stones and what buildings are here !" 

The eastern wall of the temple, which fronted the 
Mount of Olives, whither the disciples, with their Mas- 
ter, were then retiring, was built, from the bottom of 
the valley to a prodigious height, with stones of an in- 
credible bulk, firmly compacted together, and therefore 
made a very grand appearance at a distance. The 
eastern wall is supposed to have been the only remains 
of Solomon's temple, and had escaped when the Chal- 
deans burnt it. But this building, however strong or 
costly it appeared, our Saviour told them should be 



* See page 333. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



337 



totally destroyed. "Seestthou," said he, these great 
buildings ? there shall not be left one stone upon another 
that shall not be thrown down." Mark xiii. 2. That 
noble edifice, raised with much labor and at a vast ex- 
pense, shall be razed to the very foundation."^ The dis- 
ciples, therefore, perceived that the whole temple was to 
be demolished, but did not suspect that the sacrifices 
w^ere to be taken away, and a new mode of religion in- 
troduced, which (by fulfilling the whole design of the 
Levitical sacrifices, there ofiered, in the atonement of 
Christ) rendered the temple unnecessary. They flat- 
tered themselves that the fabric then standing, however 
glorious it might appear, was too small for the numerous 
worshippers w^ho would frequent it when all the nations 
of the world were subject to the Messiah's kingdom, and 
was, therefore, to be pulled down, in order to be erected 
on a more magnificent plan, suitable to the idea they 
had conceived of his future empire. Filled with these 
pleasing imaginations, they received the news with 
pleasure, meditating, as they walked to the mountain, 
on the glorious things which were shortly to come to 
pass. 

When they arrived on the Mount of Olives, and 
their Master had taken his seat on some eminence, from 



* It appears to us rather a strain upon the words of Jesus to apply 
them to the lower wall or substructure of the temple. Besides this exe- 
getical objection to it, there is a historical one— was the wall ever demol- 
ished in fact ? To say nothing of the immense arched ways and vaults 
under the vast area, which still remain, there are in the outer walls of the 
present area stones of vast size, evidently belonging to the ancient walls. 
Near the southwest corner, as Dr. Robinson and Dr. Barclay both testify, 
certain huge stones mark the beginning of an arch, a part of the stately 
bridge which anciently connected the temple with Mount Zion. 
22 



338 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



whence they had a prospect of the temple and part of 
the city, his disciples drew near, to know when the 
demolition of the old structure was to happen, and what 
were to be the signs of his coming, and of the end of the 
world. ^'And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the 
disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us^ 
when shall these things be? and what shall be the 
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world T"-^ 
Matt. xxiv. 3. 

* Let the reader remark here, that however closely the idea of the 
destruction of the temple might be associated in the minds of the disciples 
with that of the Saviour's second coming, the questions proposed by them 
are two, and perfectly distinct in their nature. The first is simply a ques- 
tion of time, restricted by its terms to the events just foretold : " When 
shall all these things be?" that is, when shall the temple be destroyed? 
The second is a question of evidence: " What shall be the sign (evidence) 
of thy coming and of the end of the world ?" It is of great importance 
to the understanding of the Saviour's answers to keep these questions 
apart from each other. 

Our Lord proceeds at once to reply to the first question, and continues 
it until it is fully disposed of. Matt. xxiv. 34. The allusion to his second 
coming in verse 27, is merely cautionary, to distinguish it from all false 
pretences, by the fact of its all-irradiating splendor. The allusions to it 
in verses 29-31, are simply in the way of evidence ; the judgment on the 
Jewish state being a sign of Christ being in heaven, and of the certainty 
and solemnity of his final coming to judgment. 

The parable of the fig-tree belongs entirely to the signs of the ap- 
proaching destruction of the city and sanctuary, which was to fall within 
the lifetime of the existing generation. But of that greater event, his 
second coming, when " heaven and earth shall pass away" (verse 35), he 
says expressly the time shall not be revealed : But of that day and hour 
knoweth no man ; no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." 
Matt. xxiv. 36. The remainder of the discourse turns upon a suitable 
preparation to meet him, and the holy watchfulness demanded of every 
generation of men by the uncertainty (as far as we are concerned) of 
the time. 

Experience abundantly proves that all attempts to determine the time 
of our Lord's second advent have been fruitless and vain. Are they not 
presumptuous also ? 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



339 



The disciples, by this request, seemed desirous of 
knowing what signs should precede the erection of thtit 
extensive empire over which they supposed the Messiah 
was to reign ; for they still expected he would govern a se- 
cular kingdom. They, therefore, connected the demolition 
of the temple with their Master's coming, though they 
had not the least notion that he was to destroy the 
nation and change the form of religious worship. They, 
therefore, meant by the " end of the world," or, as the 
words should have been translated, the end of the ages, 
the period of the political government then executed by 
the heathen procurators.* 

Our blessed Saviour, therefore, was careful to con- 
vince them of their mistake, by telling them that he 
was not come to rule a secular empire, as they supposed, 
but to punish the Jews for their perfidy and rebellion, 
by destroying both their temple and nation. " Take 
heed," said he, that no man deceive you. For many 
shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and shall 
deceive many." 

This caution was far from being unnecessary, because. 



* The best key to determine the precise meaning of a writer in the use 
of a particular word or phrase, is found by comparing all the passages in 
which he employs it. Now it happens that the original phrase, translated 
** the end of the world," is used by Matthew three times before, in report- 
ing the language of our Lord. Matt. xiii. 39, 40, 47. There the connection 
of the words is such as to definitely fix the meaning to the last day, or 
day of final judgment on all mankind. Why any one can imagine that 
the very same words are used here in a different meaning, or should have 
a different rendering, is not obvious on any critical grounds. Indeed, the 
laws of language forbid it, unless some pecuUar and imperative reason 
requires us to depart from the established signification. But no such 
reason can be shown. On the contrary, the discourse of our Lord to tha 
end of the next chapter would be unintelligible on any such supposition. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



though his disciples were to see their Master ascend into 
heaven, they might take occasion, from the prophecy, 
to think that he would appear again on earth, and 
therefore be in danger of seduction by the false Christs 
that should arise. ^^And when ye shall hear of wars, 
and rumors of wars, see that ye be not troubled ; for all 
these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." 
Before this nation and temple are destroyed, terrible 
wars will happen in the land : For nation shall arise 
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and 
there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, 
in divers places." Matt. xxiv. 7. These are the pre- 
ludes of the important event, forerunners of the evils 
which shall befall this nation and people. At the same 
time, you shall meet with hot persecutions : walk 
therefore circumspectly, and arm yourselves, both with 
patience and fortitude, that you may be able to perform 
your duty through the whole course of these persecu* 
tions ; for ye shall be brought before the great men of 
the earth for my sake. But when they shall lead 
you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand 
what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate ; but 
whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak 
ye : for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." 
Mark xiii. 11. 

During this time of trouble and confusion, he told 
them, the perfidy of mankind shall be so great toward 
one another, that brother shall betray the brother to 
death, and the father the son ; and children shall rise 
up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put 
to death." The unbelieving Jews and apostate Chris- 
tians sh^U commit the most enormous and inhuman 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



341 



crimes. It is therefore no wonder that the perfidy and 
wickedness of such pretended Christians should dis- 
courage many disciples, and greatly hinder the propaga- 
tion of the gospel. But he who lives by faith, during 
these persecutions, and is not led away by false Chris- 
tians, shall escape that terrible destruction which, like a 
deluge, will overflow the land. And when Jerusalem 
shall be surrounded with armies, pagan armies, bearing 
on their standards the images of their gods, the abom- 
ination of desolation" mentioned by the prophet Daniel, 
then let him who readeth the predictions of that prophet 
understand that the end of the city and sanctuary, to- 
gether with the ceasing of sacrifices and oblations there 
predicted, is come, and consequently the final period of 
the Jewish polity.* Then let them which are in 
Judea flee to the mountains ; and let them which are 
in the midst of it depart out."f Luke xxi. 21. " Let 



* The particular prediction of Daniel here referred to, is found in Dan. 
ix. 26, 27. The original language here differs little from the Greek trans- 
lation of the Seventy, then in general use. 

Not only the temple and the city of Jerusalem were accounted holy by 
the Jews, but the suburbs for several furlongs beyond. It was on the 
heights of the surrounding hills that the Roman general, Cestius Gallus, 
first pitched his army and planted his standards, which, as they contained 
the Roman eagles and the image of the emperor worshipped by the soldiers, 
were counted by the Jews as idolatrous ensigns — an " abomination of 
desolation," or threatening desolation from the heights they occupied. 

t It might, at first thought, seem to be too late for Christians to flee 
from the city after " it was compassed with armies." But we learn irom 
the testimony of Josephus, the Jewish historian, that, although Cestius 
might then have captured the city, from some cause he suddenly with- 
drew his army. He adds that as soon as the siege was thus unaccount- 
ably abandoned, " many eminent persons fled from the city as from a 
sinking ship." These persons, in part at least, perhaps wholly, were 
Christians, who obeyed the prophetic direction of our Lord, and fled 



342 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



him which is on the housetop not come down to take 
any thing out of his house ; neither let him which is in 
the field return .back to take his clothes." Matt. xxiv. 
17, 18. Then shall be fulfilled the awful predictions 
of the prophet Daniel, and the dreadful judgments de- 
nounced against the impenitent and unbelieving. In 
those days of vengeance, the women who are with child, 
and those who have infants hanging at their breasts, 
shall be particularly unhappy, because they cannot flee 
from the impending destruction. ^'But pray ye that 
your flight be not in the winter," when the badness of 
the roads and the rigor of the season will render speedy 
travelling very troublesome, if not impossible; neither 
on the Sabbath day," when you shall think it unlawful.* 
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever 
shall be." This is confirmed by what Josephus tells us, 
that no less than eleven hundred thousand perished in 
the siege. f 



across the Jordan to Pella, a city near the mountains of Gilead, belong- 
ing to the jurisdiction of King Agrippa. Here they enjoyed protection 
for the four years of the terrible Jewish war. Agrippa took part with 
the Romans, and was therefore friendly to the Christians. 

* Christians might not generally regard their flight, at the command 
of Christ, unlawful ; but a few might possibly be thus tempted to call in 
question the supreme authority of the Lord of the Sabbath. The real 
danger was that the unbelieving Jews would so regard it, and thus in- 
terfere with their flight. 

T This immense destruction of human life, in a single siege, is without 
a parallel in the history of the world. It was made possible only by the 
activity or strategy of Titus, in investing Jerusalem finally at the time 
of the Passover, when a great part of the nation had gone up to attend 
the great national feast; and by the obstinate fury of the parties within 
the city, neither of whom would consent to any terms of peace with the 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



343 



The heavenly prophet added that, except the days of 
tribulation should be shortened, none of the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem and Judea, of whom he was speaking, should 
escape destruction ; in confirmation of which Josephus 
tells us that the quarrels which raged during the siege 
were so fierce and obstinate that both within the walls 
of Jerusalem and without in the neighboring country, 
the whole land was one continued scene of horror and 
desolation ; and, had the siege continued much longer, 
the whole nation of the Jews had been totally destroyed, 
according to our Lord's prediction. But," added our 
blessed Saviour, "for the elect's sake, whom he hath 
chosen, he hath shortened the days." By the elect are 
meant such of the Jews as had embraced the doctrines 
of the gospel, and particularly those who were brought 
in with the believing Gentiles.* 

As it is natural, in time of trouble, to look with eager 
expectation for a deliverer, our blessed Saviour cautioned 
his disciples not to listen to any pretences of that kind, 
as many false Christs would arise and deceive great 
numbers of the people — a prediction that was fully ac- 
complished during the terrible siege of Jerusalem by the 
Romans \ so Josephus tells us that many arose, pretend- 
ing to be the Messiah, boasting that they would deliver 
the nation from all its enemies. And the multitude, 
always too prone to listen to deceivers who promise 
temporal advantages, giving credit to those deceivers, 

Romans, while they were daily murdering one another. Add to these 
causes the false hopes of deliverance by the Messiah, with which they 
were deluded to the last. 

* This is true, no doubt. But if we turn to Romans xi. a further and 
grander sense opens before us. See especially verses 23-36. 



344 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



became more obstinate in their opposition to the Romans, 
and thereby rendered their destruction more severe and 
inevitable. And what still increased the infatuation 
of the people was their performing wonderful things 
during the war ; and, accordingly, Josephus calls them 
magicians and sorcerers. Hence we see the propriety 
of the caution given by the Son of God, who foretold 
that they should show great signs and wonders, inso- 
much that, if it were possible, they would deceive the 
very elect. But take heed ; behold, I have foretold you 
all things." And, as the partisans of the false Christ 
might pretend that the Messiah was concealed awhile 
for fear of the Romans, and the weaker sort of Chris- 
tians, without this warning, have imagined that Christ 
was actually returned to deliver the nation in its ex- 
tremity, and to punish their enemies, who now so 
cruelly oppressed them, and that he would show him- 
self as soon as it was proper, the blessed Jesus thought 
proper to caution them against this particular : Where- 
fore if they shall say unto you. Behold, he is in the 
desert, go not forth ; behold, he is in the secret cham- 
bers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out 
of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall 
also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. xxiv. 
26, etc. The coming of the Son of man shall be like 
lightning, swift and destructive.* But he will not come 
personally: his servants only shall come, the Roman 



* It is not the swiftness and destructiveness of the hghtning on which 
our Lord fixes the attention here, so much as its sudden, universal splen- 
dor. He will come, not locally and obscurely, but in a blaze of glory 
which shall fill the world, and leave no possible doubt of his appearing. 
Kev. i. 7; 2 Thess. i. 7-10. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



345 



armies, who by his command shall destroy this nation, 
as eagles devour their prey. 

Having thus given them a particular account of the 
various circumstances which should precede the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, he next described that catas- 
trophe itself, in all the pomp of language and imagery 
made use of by the ancient prophets when they foretold 
the destruction of cities and kingdoms. But in those 
days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, 
and the moon shall not give her light ; and the stars of 
heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven 
shall be shaken." Mark xiii. 24. ^^And upon the 
earth distress of nations, with perplexity ; the sea and 
the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, 
and for looking after those things which are coming on 
the earth." Luke xxi. 25, 2C, 

Whoever shall compare the prediction of our Saviour 
with the history Josephus wrote of the war cannot fail 
of being struck with the wisdom of Christ, and acknowl- 
edge that his prediction was truly divine ; for, as the 
Jewish nation was at this time in the most flourishing 
state, the event here foretold appeared altogether im- 
probable.''' Besides, the circumstances of the destruction 

* Palestine, according to the estimate of Prof. Wines, was capable, 
under favorable circumstances, of supporting in comfort a population of 
more than 40,000,000 (forty millions) of souls. In the times of the Kings, 
if we may judge from the armies of Jehoshaphat and Ahab (2 Chron. xiv.), 
the population must have been ten or twelve millions. 

From the descriptions of Josephus, we can hardly doubt that the 
country, in the time of Christ and his apostles, had reached a density of 
population, and a height of wealth, culture, and beauty, never before 
attained. That height was the measure of its fall. 

Had it only received, instead of despising and rejecting Jesus, how dif 



346 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



are very numerous and surprisingly great, and the whole 
delivered without any ambiguity. It is, therefore, a 
prophecy of such a kind as could never have been uttered 
by any impostor, and consequently the person who de- 
livered it was acquainted with the secret counsels of 
heaven, and was trulv divine. 

It was natural also, as men were to undergo at the de- 
struction of Jerusalem nearly the same miseries, and as the 
passions which its approach would raise in their minds 
were similar to those which will happen at the destruc- 
tion of the world, it is natural I say for our blessed 
Saviour on this occasion, to put his disciples in. mind of 
that judgment, and to exhort them to the faithful dis- 
charge of their duty from the consideration of the sud- 
denness of his coming to call every individual to account 
after death. ^' Therefore be ye also ready; for in such 
an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt, 
xxiv. 34. 

The striking representations of the last judgment he 
has here given must greatly tend to rouse the con- 
sciences of men from their lethargy, and consider, 
before it be too late, the things which belong to their 
peace." 

Then shall the kingdom of heaven, the gospel king- 
dom, in the last dispensation of it, when the kingdom 
of grace is going to be swallowed up in the kingdom of 
glory, '^be likened unto ten virgins, which took their 
lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And 
five of them were wise, and five were foolish." They 



ferent m ght have been its destiny ! " If thou hadst known, even thou— 
at least n this thy day — the things that belong unto thy peace I But 
uov» they are hid from thine eyes !" 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



3^7 



that were foolish took their lamps, but the wise put oil 
in their vessels ; knowing that it was uncertain when the 
bridegroom would arrive, and that they might in all 
probabiUty wait long for his coming. Nor were they 
mistaken; for the bridegroom did not come so sood as 
they expected. While the bridegroom tarried, they 
all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was 
a great cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh ; ^o ye 
out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose, and 
trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the 
wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 
But the wise answered, saying. Not so; lest there be 
not enough for us anji you ; but go ye rather to them 
that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went 
to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready 
went in with him to the marriage : and the door was 
shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said. 
Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch, there- 
fore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour when the 
Son of man cometh." Matt. xxv. 6, etc. 

In order to understand this parable, we must remem- 
ber that it alludes to the custom of the Eastern people. 
It was usual with them for the bridegroom to bring his 
bride hom^ in the evening, sooner or later, as the cir- 
cumstances might happen; and, that they might be 
received properly at his house, his female acquaint- 
ances, especially those of the younger sort, were in- 
vited to come and wait with lamps till some of his 
retinue, despatched before the rest, informed them that 
he was near at hand ; upon which they trimmed their 
lamps, went forth to welcome him, and conduct him, 



84S 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



Vvdth liis bride, into the house ; for which they were 
honored as guests at the marriage feast, and shared in 
the usual festivities. To ten such virgins our blessed 
Saviour compares those to whom the gospel is preached ; 
because this was the general number appointed to wait 
on the bridegroom : and to these all Christian profes- 
sors may be likened, who, taking their lamp of Chris- 
tian profession, go forth to meet the bridegroom ; that 
is, consider themselves candidates for the kingdom of 
heaven, and desire to be admitted, with Christ, the 
celestial Bridegroom, into the happy mansions of im- 
mortality. 

We must remember that there always was, and 
always will be, a mixture of good and bad in the 
church, till the great day of separation arrives. The 
weakness of the foolish is represented by their taking no 
oil in their vessels, with their lamps ; that is, the foolish 
professors content themselves with the bare lamp of pro- 
fession, and never think of furnishing it with the oil of 
divine grace, the fruit of which is a life of holiness. 
Whereas, the wise, well knowing that a lamp without 
the supply of oil would be speedily extinguished — that 
a faith without love or holiness will be of no consequence 
— ^take care to secure a supply for themselves of the 
divine grace, and to display in their lives the works of 
love and charity. While those virgins, though differ- 
ently supplied, waiting the coming of the bridegroom, 
all slumbered and slept; that is, as some think, all 
Christians, both good and bad, the sincere and the 
hypocrite, lie down together in the sleep of death, and, 
while the bridegroom delays his coming, slumber in the 
chambers of the dust. But others suppose that this 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



349 



argues the want of vigilance and care, even in the wise 
as well as foolish ; that few, if any, are as attentive as 
they ought to be to the coming of the Lord. 

The Jews have a tradition that Christ's coming to 
judgment will be at midnight ; which agrees with that 
particular in the parable, "At midnight there was a cry 
made. Go ye out to meet him." But, however this be, 
whether he will come at midnight or in the morning, it 
will be awfully sudden and alarming. The great cry 
will be heard to the end of the earth ; the trumpet shall 
sound, and the mighty archangel's voice pierce even the 
bowels of the earth and the depths of the ocean : " Be- 
hold, the bridegroom cometh : go ye out to meet him." 
The graves, both earthly and watery, must surrender 
their tenants, and all will then begin to think how they 
may prepare themselves to find admittance to the mar- 
riage-supper of the Lamb. Then all those virgins 
arose, and trimmed their lamps." But the foolish soon 
perceived their folly : their lamps were gone out, totally 
extinguished, and they had no oil to support the flame 
In like manner the hypocrite's hope shall perish. But 
the wise were in much happier condition : they had oil 
in their vessels, sufficient for themselves, but none to 
spare ; for when the foolish virgins would have procured 
some from them they denied their request, fearing there 
would not be enough for both. 

There are here beautifully represented nominal and 
sincere Christians. The former, having only the bare 
lamp of a profession, and who have not been solicitous 
to gain the oil of divine grace by a constant use of the 
means assigned, will fare like the foolish virgins ; while 
the latter, whose hearts are filled with divine oil, will, 



350 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



like the wise virgins, enter into the joy of the Lord, 
But the foolishj going to purchase oil, missed the hride- 
groom, and, behold, ''the door was shut." They at 
last, however, reached the gate, and, with great impor- 
tunity, cried, '' Lord, Lord, open unto us." But he an- 
swered and said, " Yerily, I say unto you, I know you 
not." As you denied me on earth, I deny you now : 
depart from me ; I know you not. How justly, there- 
fore, did our blessed Saviour bid us all watch, that we 
may be found ready whenever he cometh, or commands 
by the king of terrors our attendance before his judg- 
ment-seat ! Let us not refuse this kind invitation of 
being constantly prepared to meet the heavenly Bride- 
groom ; let us get our lamps filled with oil, that we may 
be ready to follow our great Master into the happy man- 
sions of the heavenly Canaan. 

But, as this duty was of the utmost importance, our 
blessed Saviour, to show us more clearly the nature and 
use of Christian watchfulness, to which he exhorts us 
at the conclusion of the parable of the Ten Yirgins, added 
another, wherein he represented the different characters 
of a faithful and slothful servant, and the difference of 
their future acceptation. This parable, Hke the former, 
is intended to stir us up to a zealous preparation for the 
coming of our Lord, by diligence in the discharge of our 
duty and by a careful improvement of our souls in holi- 
ness, and, at the same time, to expose the vain pre- 
tences of hypocrites, and to demonstrate that their fair 
speeches and outward forms, without the power of god- 
liness, will be of no service whatever in the last day of 
account. 

The Son of man, said he, may, with respect to his 



1 

I 

I 

i 

LIFE OF CHRIST. 35J 

final coming to judge the world, be likened unto a man 
travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, 
and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he 
gave five talents, to another two, and to another one ; 
to every one according to his several ability;* and 
straightway took his journey." Immediately, on his 
master's departure, he who had received the five talents 
lost no time, but traded with the same ; and his increase 
was equal to his industry and application : he made 
them other five talents. He that received two talents 
did the same, and had equal success. But he that re- 
ceived one, very unlike the conduct of his fellow-servants, 
went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money, 
idle, useless, unemployed, and unimproved. After a 
long time, and at an hour when they did not expect it, 
the lord of those servants returned, called them l)efore 
him, and ordered them to give an account of their 
several trusts. Upon which, he that had received five 
talents, as a proof of his fideUty, produced other five 
talents, saying, ^^Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five 
talents : behold, I have gained besides them five talents 
more." Matt. xxv. 20. His lord, highly applauding 
his industry and fidelity, said to him, Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant : thou hast been faithful over 
a few things ; I will make thee ruler over many things : 
enter thou into the joy of thy lord." Matt. xxv. 21. 

In like manner, also, he that had received two talents 
declared he had gained two others ; upon which he was 
honored with the same applause, and admitted into the 



* The talents here do not denote native abilities (from which they are 
distinguished), but the manifold means and opportunities of religious im 
pro'vement and usefulness 



352 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



same joy with his fellow-servant — their raaster having 
regard to the industry and fidelity of his servants, not 
to the number of the talents only, but the greatness 
of their increase. 

After this, he that had received the one talent came, 
and, with a shameful falsehood, to excuse his vile indo- 
lence, said, ^^Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard 
man, reajoing where thou hast not sown, and gathering 
where thou hast not strewed ; and I was afraid, and 
went and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, there thou 
hast that is thine." Matt. xxv. 24, 25. The perver- 
sion of even the smallest portion of his gifts greatly ex- 
cited the resentment of his lord, who answered, Thou 
wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap 
where I sowed not, and gather where I have not 
strewed ! thou oughtest therefore to have put my money 
to the exchangers, and then at my coming, I should 
have received mine own with usury. Take, therefore, 
the teJent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten 
talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, 
and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath 
not shall be taken away even that which he hath.* 
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer dark- 
ness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
Matt. xxv. 26, etc. 

Such is the parable of the Talents, as delivered by our 
blessed Saviour — a parable containing the measures of 
our duty to God, and the motives which enforce it, all 
delivered in the plainest and simplest manner. But its 
views are so extensive and affecting, that while it in- 
structs the meanest capacity, it engages reverence and 



* The precious means and opportunities he has so wretchedly abused. 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



353 



attention from the greatest, and strikes an impression on 
the most improved understanding. We are to consider 
God as our Lord and Master, the Author and Giver of 
every good gift, and ourselves as his servants or stewards, 
who, in various instances and measures, have received 
from his goodness such blessings and abilities as may fit 
ms for the several stations and offices of life to which his 
providence may appoint us. But then we are to observe 
that these are committed to us as a trust or loan, for 
whose due management we are accountable to the 
donor. If we faithfully acquit ourselves of this proba- 
tionary charge, we shall receive far greater instances of 
God's regard and favor 5 but if we are remiss and negli- 
gent we must expect to feel his resentment and dis- 
pleasure. A time will come, and how near it may be 
none of us can tell, when our great Master will demand 
a particular account of every talent he hath committed 
to our care. This time may, indeed, be at a distance; 
for it is uncertain when the king of terrors will receive 
the awful warrant to terminate our existence here 
below, yet it will certainly come, and our eternal happi- 
ness or misery depends upon it ; so that we should all 
have it continually in our thoughts, and engraven, 
as with the point of a diamond, on the tables of our 
hearts. 

We learn farther from this instructive parable that 
Infinite Wisdom hath intrusted men with different 
talents, and adjusted them to the various purposes of 
human life. But, though the gifts of men are unequal, 
none can with justice complain; since whatever is be- 
stowed, be it more or less, is a favor entirely unmerited. 
Each then should be thankful, and satisfied with his 
23 



/ 



354 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

portion, and, instead of envying the more liberal endow- 
ments of others, apply himself to the improvement of his 
own. And it should be observed that the difficulty of 
the task is in proportion to the number of talents com- 
mitted to each. He who had received five was to gain 
other five ; and he who had received two was to account 
for other two. Surely, then, we have no reason to com- 
plain if our Master has laid on us a lighter burden, a 
more easy and less service, than he has on others ; 
especially as our interest in the favor of the Almighty 
does not depend on the number of our talents, but 
on our diligence and application in the management 
of them ; so that the moral design of this parable is, to 
engage our utmost attention to improve such talents 
as our heavenly Father hath thought proper to bestow 
upon us. 

Our blessed Lord closes his discourse, not by another 
parable, but by a solemn picture of the last judgment, 
with its everlasting issues. ''When the Son of Man," 
said he, "shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of 
his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations ; 
and he shall separate them, one from another, as a 
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he 
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on 
the left." Matt. xxv. 31. It is common, in the Old 
Testament, to compare good men to sheep, on account 
of their innocence and usefulness ; and wicked men to 
goats, for their exorbitant lusts. Our blessed Saviour, 
however, does not pursue the allegory farther, but de 
scribes the remaining, and indeed the greatest part of 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



355 



this awful scene, in terms perfectly simple : so that 
though the sense be profound, it is obvious. 

Here the judgment of all nations. Gentiles as well as 
Christians, is exhibited : and the particulars on which 
these awful trials are to proceed displayed by the great 
Judge himself 

Here we learn, that we shall be condemned or ac- 
quitted, according as we have neglected or performed 
works of charity ; works which flow from the great prin- 
ciples of faith and piety. But we must not understand 
that such works merited this favor from the J udge ; no, 
all who are accepted at that day, whether heathens or 
Christians, shall be accepted solely on account of the 
righteousness of Christ, the true, the only meritorious 
cause. 

" Then shall the king say unto them on his right 
hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and 
ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, 
and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto 
me." Matt. xxv. 34, etc. 

They, enraptured and amazed, shall then ask, with 
great reverence and humility, when they performed 
these services ? as they never saw him in want, and 
therefore could not assist him. " Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave 
thee drink ? When saw we thee a stranger, and took 
thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we 
thee sick or in prison, and came unto thee ? And the 
king shall answer and say unto them, VeriJy, I say 



356 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the 
least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." 
Matt. XXV. 37, etc. This is truly astonishing ! The 
united wisdom of men and angels could never have dis- 
covered a more proper method to convey an idea of the 
warmth and force of the divine benevolence to the sons 
of, men, or offer a more forcible motive to charity, than 
that the Son of God should, from his seat of judgment, 
in presence of the whole race of mankind, and all the 
hosts of blessed spirits from the courts of heaven, declare 
that all good offices done to the afflicted, for his sake, 
are done to himself. 

During the time of his dwelling with human nature in 
this vale of tears, he suffered unspeakable injuries and 
afflictions : and, therefore, considers all the distressed 
virtuous as members of his body, loves them with the 
utmost tenderness, and is so greatly interested in their 
welfare, that he rejoices when they are happy, and 
grieves when they are distressed. 

Perhaps the true reason why the grand inquiry shall 
rest solely on the performance of our Christian duties is, 
that men, generally speaking, consider the neglect of those 
duties as a matter of no great consequence, but dread 
the commission of crimes. And hence it happens, that 
while they keep themselves free from the latter, they 
easily find excuses for the former. And as there is not 
a more pernicious error, with regard to religion and 
morality, than this, the blessed Jesus thought proper to 
give such an account of the judgment as should prove 
the most solemn caution against it. 

The work of charity may, indeed, in some particular 
cases, flow from other principles than those of a pious 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



357 



and benevolent disposition, as from vanity, or even views 
of interest ; but then it should be remembered, that a 
common degree of hypocrisy will hardly engage men to 
undertake them. ; they are by far too weighty duties to 
be sustained by those false principles, and, therefore, are 
seldom counterfeited. Consequently, wherever a genu- 
ine, extensive, and permanent charity is found, we may 
conclude, that there the love of God reigns. 

Hence we learn that all pretences to goodness, with- 
out a principle of grace wrought in the heart, avail noth- 
ing in point of eternal salvation. At the same time, if 
we consider it in its full light, it will give us no reason 
to think well of ourselves, if we are wanting in our duty 
to God ; and that we should not only be charitable, but 
grateful also, just, temperate, and blameless in all our 
dealings with mankind. 

Since the duty we owe to God is the same in kind 
with that we owe to man in like circumstances, it will 
undeniably follow, that true morality can never exist 
where piety is wanting ; and that those who pretend to 
morality, and are destitute of piety, render themselves 
ridiculous. 

The awful Judge himself has told us, that after he 
has passed the happy sentence on the righteous, he will 
pronounce the following sentence of condemnation upon 
the wicked : Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast- 
ing fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I 
was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took 
me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not : sick, and in 
prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they alsc 
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an huii- 



358 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



gered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in 
prison, and did not minister unto thee ? Then shall he 
answer them, saying, Yerily, I say unto you, inasmuch 
as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it 
not to me." Matt. xxv. 41, etc. 

It is remarkable, that our blessed Saviour has told 
us, that the original design of Omnipotence was to 
render man happy, not miserable ; a state of consum- 
mate felicity was formed for the human race, at the 
time they were created ; but the fire of hell was pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels immediately after 
their fall. And as wicked men joined with devils in 
their sin of rebellion against the Almighty, they are 
doomed to share with them in their punishment : a 
punishment of the heaviest kind; a punishment of 
devils. 

After having represented the sentences that are to be 
passed on the righteous and the wicked, our Saviour 
closed the scene in the following manner : ^^And these 
shall go away into everlasting punishment : but the 
righteous into life eternal." Matt. xxv. 46. 

Happy decision to the followers of the Lamb ! awful 
sentence to the workers of iniquity ! may it excite us 
to pray for that grace by which alone we shall obtain 
the former ! 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



359 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

OUR BLESSED LORD IS ANOINTED BY A POOR BUT PIOUS 
WOMAN — THE PERFIDIOUS JUDAS CONSENTS TO BETRAY 

HIS MASTER THE HUMBLE JESUS WASHES THE FEET OF 

HIS DISCIPLES, AND FORETELLS THAT DISCIPLE WHO WAS 
TO BETRAY HIM INTO THE HANDS OF HIS INVETERATE 
ENEMIES. 

When our blessed Saviour had finished these dis- 
courses, he added a short account of his own death, in 
order to fortify his disciples against a greater trial than 
they had yet met with ; namely, the sufferings of their 
Master. ^^And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished 
all these sayings, he said unto his disciples. Ye know 
that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the 
Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. 

Then assembled together the chief priests, and the 
scribes, and the elders of the people, into the palace of 
the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and consulted 
that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. 
But they said, Not on the feast-day, lest there be an 
uproar among the people." Matt. xxvi. 1, etc. 

The blessed Jesus used frequently to retire in the 
evening from the city to the Mount of Olives, and there 
spend the night, in some village or the gardens, either 
to avoid falling into the hands of his enemies, or for 
the sake of a little retirement. They did not, indeed, 
presume to attack him while he was surrounded by his 
followers in the daytime ; but, in all probability, had 
he lodged within the city, they would have apprehended 
him during the darkness and silence of tlie night. 



360 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



"When the evening approached, our blessed Saviour, 
with his discipleSj repaired to Bethany, and entered the 
house of Simon the leper — probably one who experienced 
the healing efficacy of his power. But, while he sat at 
meat, a woman,* who had also, doubtless, been an 
object of his mercy, came and poured a box of precious 
ointment upon his head. This action displeased the 
disciples, who knew that their Master was not delighted 
with luxuries of any kind ; and therefore they rebuked 
the woman, imagining that it would have been more 
acceptable to the Son of God if the ointment had been 
sold and the money distributed among the sons and 
daughters of poverty and affliction. To reprove the 
disciples, Jesus told them that it had pleased the Divine 
Providence to order that there should always be persons 
in necessitous circumstances, that the righteous might 
never want occasions for exercising their charity ; but 
that those who did not testify their love to him would 
nevermore have the opportunity of doing it, as the time 
of his ministry was near its period, when the king of 



* As this woman is declared expressly to be no other than Mary the 
sister of I-iazarus (John xi. 2 ; xii. 5), and as the act was the overflowing 
of her giateful love for the recent resurrection of her brother, it seems 
proper to give her name. In the impassioned ardor of her feelings, no 
offering less costly would have satisfied her soul ; and it is worthy of 
remark, that while the other evangelists mention only the anointing of 
the Saviour's head, John adds, that she anointed his feet also, and wiped 
them with the hair of her head. 

There is doubtless room for discretion and choice in our ordinary modes 
of testifying our love to the Eedeemer ; but this case brooked no delay, 
and from the language of Jesus on this oocasion, we learn that nothing 
is really wasted which is devoted to his glory, and is the outgushing of a 
heart penetrated with gratitude for his mercies. Cold criticism, in such 
a case, is as much o-t of season as snow in harvest. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



361 



terrors should enjoy a short triumph over his body ; and 
therefore this woman had seasonably anointed him for 
his burial. And, to make them sensible of their folly 
in blaming the woman for this expression of love to 
him, he assured them that she should be highly 
esteemed for this action in every part of the world, 
and her memory live to the latest period of time. 

Judas Iscariot (one of the twelve, having been more 
forward than the rest in condemning the woman, 
thought the rebuke was particularly directed to him), 
stung with the guilt of his own conscience, arose from 
the table, and went immediately into the city, to the 
high priest's palace, where he found the whole Council 
assembled. His passion would not suffer him to reflect 
on the horrid deed he was going to commit : he imme- 
diately promised, for the reward of thirty pieces of 
silver, to betray into their hands his Lord and Master. 
Having thus engaged with the rulers of Israel to put 
into their hands a person who had often invited them, 
in the most pathetic manner, to embrace the gracious 
terms of the gospel offered by the Almighty, he sought 
an opportunity to betray him in the absence of the 
multitude. 

Our Lord, who well knew that the time of his suffer- 
ing drew nigh, desired, therefore, to celebrate the 
passover with his disciples. He was now going to finish 
the mighty work for which he came into the world, and 
therefore would not neglect to fulfil the smallest partic- 
ular of the law of Moses. He therefore sent two of 
his disciples into the city to prepare a lamb and make 
it ready for eating the passover ; telling them that they 
should meet a man, bearing a pitcher of water, who 



362 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



would conduct tliem to his house and show them a large 
upper room, furnished, where they were to make ready 
for him. He was willing, in this last transaction, to 
convince his disciples that he knew every thing that 
should befall him ; that his sufferings were all foretold 
by the Almighty ; and that they were all, on his own 
part, submitted unto voluntarily. 

When night approached, Jesus left Bethany, and, 
every thing being ready for him at the time he entered 
into the city, he sat down at the appointed hour. He 
told his disciples, in the most affectionate manner, that 
he had greatly longed to eat the passover with them 
before he suffered, in order to show them the strongest 
proofs of his love. These proofs were to give them a 
pattern of humility and love, by washing their feet ; in- 
structing them in the nature of his death, as a propitia- 
tory sacrifice ; instituting the sacrament, in commemora- 
tion of his sufferings ; comforting them by the tender 
discourses recorded in John xiv., xv., xvi., in which he 
gave them a variety of excellent directions, together 
with many gracious promises ; and recommending them 
to the kind protection of his heavenly Father. ''With 
desire T have desired to eat this passover with you 
before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any 
more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom 
of God."* 

* In the kingdom of God, of which Jesus here speaks, a redemption is 
accomplished for us, of which the deliverance of Israel from Egypt was 
a striking type. "For Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," and 
through the sprinkling of his blood we are saved, while others perish 
under the avenging stroke of the angel of doom. 1 Cor. v. 7 ; 1 Thess. v. 
9, 10. The removal of all leaven shadowed forth the putting away of all 
sin by repentance, and the eating of the sacrifice foretokened the appro- 
priation of hi-^ great atonement by a liv'^ng faith. 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



363 



Having thus spoken, tie rose from the table, laid aside 
his garments, like a servant, and washed the feet of 
his disciples without distinction, though one of them, 
Judas Iscariot, was a monster of impiety — that they 
might at once behold a conjunction of love and humil- 
ity, of self-denial and beneficence — represented by a per- 
son glorious beyond expression, their great Lord and 
Master. He washed their feet (according to a custom 
which prevailed in those hot countries), in order to 
show them an example of the utmost humility and 
condescension.* The omnipotent Son of the Father 
lays every thing aside, that he may serve his followers : 
heaven stoops to earth, one abyss calls upon another, 
and the miseries of man, which were almost infinite, are 
exceeded by a mercy equal to the immensity of the 

^ There can be no question among Christians that this act of Christ was 
in the highest degree exemplary. The only question is, whether it was 
also institutional, as in the case of the Lord's Supper. On this it may be 
noticed — 1. That in the case of the Lord's Supper, its institution is after- 
ward explicitly affirmed, and its observance by Christian churches re- 
peatedly recorded. Acts ii. 42 ; xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. x. 21 ; xi. 23-34. Now, 
nothing of this sort is recorded of the public washing of feet. 2. Wash- 
ing the feet of guests was a custom of private hospitality — dating from 
the earliest times. Abraham practiced it. Gen. xviii. 4. The ground of 
it was the fact that in eastern travelling, the feet were usually protected 
only by sandals, and hence required washing, both for the sake of clean- 
Uness and of grateful coolness. It was usually done by servants, and 
considered a menial office. 1 Sam. xxv. 41. This service was therefore 
regarded as a special favor or condescension to the guests, when per- 
formed by the master or mistress of a family. Now the only mention of 
the practice among Christians in the New Testament is just in this way, 
as an act of private hospitality. 1 Tim. v. 10. It is classed with other 
" good works" of a domestic and social character, which render an aged 
widow worthy of the confidence and support of the church. Had the 
practice been public as »ji institution, could it have been mentioned in 
this way ? 



364 



LITE OF CHRIST. 



Almighty. He deferred this ceremony, which was a 
customary civiUty paid to honorable strangers at the be- 
ginning of their feast, that it might be preparatory 
to the second, which he intended should be a feast to 
the whole world, when all the followers of the blessed 
Jesus should have an opportunity, in a spiritual manner, 
of feeding on his flesh and drinking his blood. 

When our blessed Saviour came to Peter, he modestly 
declined it ; but his Master told him if he refused to sub- 
mit implicitly to all orders he could have no part with 
him. On which Peter cried out, ^^Lord, not my feet 
only, but also my hands and my head." But Jesus 
told him that the person washed had no reason to wash 
any part of the body except the feet, which he might 
have dirtied by walking from the bath, adding, Ye are 
all clean as to the outward laver, but not all as to the 
inward and spiritual laver : for I well know that one of 
you will betray me." 

When our gracious Lord had finished this menial ser- 
vice, he asked his disciples if they knew the meaning of 
what he had done, as the action was purely emblemati- 
cal. You truly, added he, style me Master and Lord ; 
for I am the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. 
But if I, your Master and your Lord, have condescended 
to wash your feet, you surely ought to perform, with 
the utmost pleasure, the humblest offices of love to one 
another. I have set you a pattern of humility, and I 
recommend it to you. 

And certainly nothing can more effectually show us 
the necessity of this heavenly temper of mind than its 
being recommended to us by so great an example — a 
recommendation which in the present circumstances 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



365 



was particularly seasonable; for, the disciples having 
heard their great Master declare that the kingdom of 
heaven was at hand, their minds were filled with ambi- 
tious thoughts. And therefore our blessed Saviour 
added. Ye need not be ashamed to follow my example, 
in this particular ; for no servant can think it beneath 
him to condescend to perform those actions his Lord has 
done before him. And, therefore, if he knows his duty, 
he will be happy if he practices it. He, moreover, 
added, that though he had called them all to the apos- 
tleship, and knew the secret dispositions of every heart 
before he chose them, they need not be surprised that 
one among them should prove a traitor, as thereby the 
Scripture would be fulfilled : He that eateth bread 
with me hath lifted up his heel against me." 

Soon after Jesus had spoken these things, his heart 
was greatly troubled to think that one of his disciples 
should prove his enemy; he complained of it at the 
table, declaring that one of them should betray him. 
This moving declaration greatly affected the disciples ; 
and they began every one of them to say to their Mas- 
ter, " Lord, is it I ?" But, J esus giving them no decisive 
answer, John, the beloved disciple, whose sweet disposi- 
tion, with other amiable qualities, is perpetuated in the 
peculiar love his great Master bore him, and was now 
reclining on his bosom, asked him who among the dis- 
ciples could be guilty of so detestable a crime. Jesus 
told him that the person to whom he should give the 
sop, when he had dipped it, was he who should betray 
him. Accordingly, as soon as he had dipped the sop 
in the dish, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, saying to 
him, at the same time, That thou doest, do quickly." 



366 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

Judas received the sop, without knowing any thing of 
what his Master had told the beloved disciple ; nor did 
any of the disciples, except John, entertain the least 
suspicion that Judas was the person who would betray 
their Master. 

Jesus further declared that his death should be 
brought about according to the decrees of Heaven, though 
that would not in the least mitigate the crime of the 
person who betrayed him ; adding, " It had been good 
for that man if he had not been born." 

As various conjectures have been formed concerning 
the motives which induced the perfidious Judas cruelly 
to deliver up his innocent Master into the hands of his 
enemies, it may not be improper to cite those which 
appear to be most probable, though the decision must 
be entirely left to the reader.* 

Some are of opinion that he was induced to commit 
this villany by the resentment of the rebuke given him 
by his Master for blaming the woman who came with 
the precious ointment and anointed the head of Jesus 
as he sat at meat in the house of Simon the leper. But 
though this had, doubtless, its weight with the traitor, 
yet it could not, I think, be his only motive ; because 
the rebuke was given in general to all the disciples, 



* We think our author, in his treatment of this question, has furnished 
a good example of what is called " comprehensive interpretation," as all 
the motives separately specified probably had influence on the mind of 
Judas. In the history of this man, so highly favored, so fully enlight- 
ened, so richly endowed with apostolic gifts, so intimately acquainted with 
the divine excellencies of Jesus, we may see the absolute need of regene- 
rating grace to turn religious advantages to a right use, and that there is, 
in the striking language of Bunyan, " a way to hell right by the door to 
heaven." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



367 



who had certainly been forward with him in censuring 
the woman. Nor can we imagine, even if he had been 
rebuked alone, that so mild a reproof could provoke 
any person, however wicked, to* the horrid act of 
murdering his friend — much less Judas, whose covetous 
disposition must have disposed him to bear every thing 
from his Master, from whom he expected the highest 
preferment if he should openly declare himself the 
Messiah and take the reins of government into his own 
hands. 

Others think that J udas betrayed his Master through 
mere covetousness. But, if we understand by covetous- 
ness the reward given by the priests, this opinion is 
equally defective ; for the sum was too small for the 
most sordid wretch to think equivalent to the life of a 
friend, especially when he expected from him the 
highest posts and advantages. 

Others attribute the perfidy of Judas to his doubting 
whether his Master was the Messiah, and that he 
betrayed him in a fit of despair. But of all the 
solutions this is the worst founded. For, if Judas 
believed his Master to be an impostor, he must have 
observed something in his behavior which led him to 
form such an opinion of him ; and in that case he would 
doubtless have mentioned it to the chief priests and 
elders when he made the contract with them ; which it 
is plain he did not, as they would have reminded him 
of it when he came back and expressed his remorse for 
what he had done. 

In fine, the supposition that Judas believed his 
Master to be an impostor is directly confuted by the 
solemn declaration he made to the priests, when he 



368 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



declared the deepest conviction of the innocence of our 
great Redeemer : '^1 have sinned," says he, in betray- 
ing innocent blood." 

A more comprehensive view of the case is therefore 
necessary. Judas probably acted from a mixture of 
motives. 

The evangelist, St. John, tells us that he was of so 
covetous a disposition, as to steal money out of our 
Lord's bag; and hence we have sufficient reason to 
believe, that he first followed Jesus with a view of 
obtaining riches, and other temporal advantages, which 
he expected the Messiah's friends would enjoy. It like- 
wise authorizes us to think that as he had hitherto 
reaped none of these advantages, he might grow impa 
tient under the delay; and the rather, as Jesus had 
lately discouraged all ambitious views among his disci- 
ples, and neglected to embrace the opportunity of 
erecting that kingdom which was offered him by the 
multitude, who accompanied him into Jerusalem with 
shouts, and crying, Hosanna to the Son of David. His 
impatience, therefore, becoming excessive, suggested to 
him the thought of delivering his Master into the hands 
of the council ; firmly persuaded that he would then be 
obliged to assume the dignity of the Messiah, and con- 
sequently be able to reward his followers. For as this 
court was composed of the chief priests, elders, and 
scribes, that is, the principal persons of the sacerdotal 
order, the representatives of the great families, and the 
doctors of the law ; the traitor did not doubt that his 
Master, when brought before so august an assembly, 
would assert his pretensions to the title of Messiah, 
prove his claim to their full conviction, gain them over 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



369 



to his interest, and immediately enter into his regal 
dignity; And though he must be sensible that the 
measures he took to compass his intention were very 
offensive to his Master, yet he might think the success 
of it would procure his pardon from so compassionate 
a Master, and even recommend him to favor. In the 
meantime, his project, however plausible it may appear 
to one of his turn, was far from being free from diffi- 
culty : and therefore, while he revolved it in his own 
mind, many things might occur to stagger his resolution. 
At length, thinkmg himself affronted by the rebuke of 
Jesus, at the time when the woman anointed the head 
of his Master, he was provoked to execute the resolution 
he had formed of obliging him to alter his measures. 

Therefore he went immediately into the city, to the pal 
ace of the high priest, where he found the council assem- 
bled, consulting how they might take Jesus by subtlety, in 
the absence of the multitude. To them he made known 
his intention of delivering his Master into their hands ; 
and undertook, for a small sum of money, to conduct 
a band of armed men to the place where the Saviour 
of the world usually spent the night with the disciples, 
where they might apprehend him without the least 
danger of a tumult. 

He knew him to be thoroughly innocent, and 

expected that he would have wrought such miracles 

before the council as should have constrained them to 

believe. Therefore, when he found that nothing of 

this kind was done, and that the priests had passed the 

sentence of condemnation upon him, and were carrying 

him to the governor to get it executed, he repented of 

his rash and covetous project, came to the chief priests 
24 



370 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and elders^ the persons to whom he had betrayed him, 
offered them their money again, and solemnly declared 
the deepest conviction of his Master's innocence, hoping 
that they would have desisted from the persecution. 
But they were obstinate, and would not relent ; upon 
which his remorse rose to such a pitch, that, unable to 
support the torments of his conscience, he went and 
hanged himself. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

JESUS INSTITUTES THE SACRAMENT IN COMMEMORATION OF 

HIS DEATH AND SUFFERINGS SETTLES A DISPUTE WHICH 

AROSE AMONG HIS DISCIPLES PREDICTS PETEr'S COWAR- 
DICE IN DENYING HIS MASTER FORTIFIES HIS DISCIPLES 

AGAINST THE APPROACHING SHOCK FORETELLS PETER's 

COWARDICE AGAIN PREACHES TO, AND PRAYS WITH HIS 

DISCIPLES FOR THE LAST TIME PASSIONATE ADDRESS OF 

OUR LORD TO HIS FATHER IN THE GARDEN. 

The Great Redeemer, ever mindful of the grand 
design of his mission, even the salvation of lost and 
perishing sinners, was not in the least affected by the 
treachery of his apostate disciple ; for, knowing that he 
must become a sacrifice for our sin, he instituted the 
sacrament of his Supper, to perpetuate the memory of it 
through all ages. Accordingly, as they were eating the 
paschal supper, "Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and 
brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, 




I 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



371 



eat this is my body." Matt. xxvi. 26. Observe this 
rite 110 longer in remembrance of your deliverance from 
Egypt,* but in remembrance of me, who, by dying for 
you, will bring you out of the spiritual bondage — a bon- 
dage far worse than the Egyptian under which your 
fathers groaned — and will establish you in the glorious 
liberty of the children of God. Do it in remembrance 
of me, who, by laying down my life, will ransom you 
from iin, from death, from hell, and will set open the 
gates of heaven to you, that you may enter immortality 
in triumph. 

Having given the bread to his disciples, he also 
took the cup, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye 
all of it ; for this is my blood of the new testament, 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matt, 
xxvi. 27, 28. 

All of you, and all of my disciples, in all ages, must 
drink of this cup, because it represents my blood shed 
for the remission of the sins of mankind; my blood, by 
which the new covenant between God and man is rati- 
fied. It is, therefore, my blood of the new covenant ; so 
that this institution exhibits to your joyful meditation 



* The language of Jesus is here improperly made to refer to the Pass- 
over, as if Christians were still to observe that feast only in new relations 
to Christ. But that feast was about to be "fulfilled in the kingdom of 
God," and its end being fulfilled, like the rest of the shadows of Judaism, 
'• it vanished away." It was never enjoined on Christians as such, and its 
attempted enforcement in the churches of the second century, first rent 
the unity of the Christian body. The Lord's Supper is altogether a dis- 
tinct institution, and not, like the Passover, limited in its observance to a 
certain portion of the year. When Jesus said, " Do tliis in remembrance 
of me," the connexion of his words determines their reference to the Lord's 
Supper alone, which was then instituted for all future time. 1 Cor. ii. 26 



372 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



the grand basis of the hopes of the children of men, and 
perpetuates the memory of it to the end of the world. 
He addedj "I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of 
the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you 
in my Father's kingdom." Matt. xxvi. 29. 

The manifestation of the Son of God is the most illus- 
trious, the most momentous event that is possible to en- 
gage the meditations of men. To his life and death, his 
resurrection and ascension into glory, we are indebted 
for our hopes and assurances of pardon, for our peace 
and happiness. To procure our salvation, he made the 
most amazing condescension from the dignity he enjoyed 
with his Father, by putting on the vail of flesh ; he 
poured divine instruction from his lips, and shone forth 
with an all-perfect and all-lovely example. For our 
benefit, he submitted to a course of the most cruel treat- 
ment from his bitter enemies, to the agonies of the 
cross, and to the stroke of the king of terrors. For our 
happiness, he arose again with power and lustre, ascended 
into the mansions of eternal happiness, manages our 
affairs with the Father, and holds the reins of govern- 
ment. With the greatest wisdom and goodness, the 
beneficent Jesus instituted a rite that should recall his 
love to our memories and awake each pious passion in 
our breast; a rite which, by the breaking of bread and 
the pouring out of wine, should represent to us, in a 
striking manner, that most signal proof of the affec- 
tion both of him and his heavenly Father, when his 
tender frame was exposed to wounds and bruises, when 
streams of the most precious blood issued from his sacred 
veins. 

The important, the awful scene now approached 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



373 



when the great work was to be finished. The traitor 
Judas was gone to the chief priests and elders^ for a 
band of soldiers to apprehend him; but this did not 
discompose the Eedeemer of mankind : he took occasion 
to meditate on the glory that woujd accrue both to him- 
self and his Almighty Father from those sufferings, and 
spake of it to his disciples. Now," said he, is the 
Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him." He 
told them that, having already done honor to his Father 
by the past actions of his life, and being about to honor 
him still further by his sufferings and death, which 
would display his perfections, particularly his infinite 
love to the human race, in the most astonishing and 
amiable light, he was, in his turn, to receive honor 
from his Father ; intimating that his human nature was 
to be exalted to the right hand of Omnipote.nce, and that 
his mission from God was to be supported by irrefragable 
attestations. 

But, his disciples imagining that he spake of the 
glory of a temporal kingdom, their ambition was again 
revived, and they began to dispute, with as much keen- 
ness as ever, which of them should be greatest in that 
kingdom. This contention Jesus suppressed by the 
arguments he had formerly used for the same purpose. 
Among the Gentiles, said he, they are reckoned the 
greatest who have the greatest power, and have exer- 
cised it in the most absolute manner ; but your greatness 
shall be very different from theirs : it shall not consist 
ii? being unlimited with regard to tyrannical power, 
even though it should be joined with an affectation of 
titles, which denote qualities truly honorable ; but who- 
soever desires to be great, or chief, among you, let him 



374 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



be so by his humility, and the service he renders to the 
rest, in imitation of me, your Master, whose greatness 
consists in this, that I am become the servant of you 
all : adding, that as they had continued with him in his 
temptation, he would bestow upon them such a kingdom 
as his Father had appointed for him. At the same 
time, to check their ambition, and lead them to form a 
just notion of his kingdom, he told them that he was 
soon to leave them, and that whither he was going they 
could not at that time follow him ; for which reason, 
instead of contending with one another which of them 
should be greatest, they would do well to be united 
among themselves in the happy bond of love. For by 
loving one another sincerely and fervently they would 
prove themselves his disciples, to the conviction of man- 
kind, who could not be ignorant that love was a distin- 
guishing part of his character. 

This is termed a new commandment, not because 
mutual love had never been enjoined to mankind before, 
but because they were to exercise it under a new rela- 
tion, according to a new measure, and from new motives. 
They were to love one another, in the relation of his 
disciples, and in that degree of love which he had 
showed to them ; for they were to lay down their lives 
for their brethren.* 

This excellent doctrine, however, did not make such 



* The nature of brotherly love makes it truly and literally " a new com- 
mandment." It is by no means the same thing as the universal love of 
our neighbor enjoined in the moral law. It is something quite distinct 
from that, and beyond it, as it must recognize Christian character as its 
peculiar object, and can have no existence except among those who have 
been born of the Spirit. 1 John iii. 14. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



375 



an impression on Peter, as the words which Jesus had 
spoken concerning a place whither his disciples could not 
come. He therefore replied by asking where he was 
going. To which Jesus answered, " Whither I go, thou 
canst not follow me now ; but thou shalt follow me 
afterward." 

In order to make his disciples farther humble, watch- 
ful, and kindly affectionate one toward another, he 
assured them that Satan was seeking to ruin them all 
by his temptations : "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, 
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he might 
sift you as wheat ; but I have prayed for thee that thy 
faith fail not ; and when thou art converted, strengthen 
thy brethren."* Peter was greatly offended that his 
Master should have singled him out as the weakest ; for 
so he interpreted his praying for him particularly ; and 
supposing that he mentioned Satan's seeking to sift him, 
as the thing which would hinder him from following 
his Master, replied ,Why cannot I follow thee now ? Is 
there any road more terrible than the dark valley of the 
shadow of death ? Yet through these black and gloomy 
shades I am willing this moment to accompany thee. 

Jesus knowing his weak, though sincere resolution, 
answered, Art thou so very confident of thine own 
strength ? I tell thee that this very night, before the 
cock crows, thou shalt thrice deny me to be thy Master. 

* 111 this case the word " converted" has the nieaning of restored. Indeed 
such a recovery as that of Peter mvolved all the elements of grace ex- 
ercised in his original conversion from sin to God, except one. There was 
in Peter, even in his aggravated sin, a root of living faith, which through 
the prayer of Jesus was preserved from total failure, and w hich sprang up 
with new vigor in the confidence of his Saviour's forgiving love. A re- 
stored and pardoned backslider carmot do too much to strengthen his 
brethren, for he speaks fror: the depths of his own bitter experience. 



376 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Our blessed Saviour having finished what he had to 
say to Peter in particular, turned himself to his other 
disciples. When I sent you formerly, said he, to preach 
the gospel, you may remember I ordered you to go 
without any provision, either for your sustenance or de- 
fence, assuring you, that though you would indeed meet 
with great opposition, yet Providence would dispose 
some men in all places to be your friends, and to fur- 
nish you with all necessaries ; and accordingly you 
found that you wanted for nothing, but were wonderfully 
supported, without any care or provision of your own, 
in the whole journey, and finished your work with suc- 
cess. But now the case is very difierent : the time of 
that greatest trial and distress, whereof I have often 
forewarned you, is just at hand : and you may now 
make all the provision in your power, and arm your- 
selves against it, as much as you are able. 

The disciples, thinking their great Master meant that 
they should arm themselves in a literal sense, and en- 
deavor to oppose the assaults that would shortly be 
made upon them by the Jews, answered, " Lord, here 
are two swords but the blessed Jesus, who only in- 
tended to convey a.n idea of their approaching distress 
and temptations, and to arm them against the sur- 
prise, replied, " It is enough you need not trouble 
yourselves about any more weapons of this nature for 
3^our defence.* 

^ The Eedeemer felt that it would be useless at such a moment to 
enter into extended details For the disciples were too widely mis- 
taken to allow a hope of bringing the^n into a right position for forming a 
proper judgment. He therefore says, ' It is enough,' as we give an evasive 
answer to children, when we find the impossibility of making ourselves 
intelligible to them." — Olshausen. 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



377 



As our blessed Saviour was now to be but a short 
time with his disciples, he thought proper to take his 
farewell of them, which he did in the most affectionate 
manner. These melancholy tidings greatly troubled 
them. They were unwilling to part with so kind a 
friend, so dear a master, so wise a guide, and so profit- 
able a teacher ; especially as they thought they should 
be left in a forlorn condition, a poor and helpless prey 
to the rage and hatred of a blind and malicious genera- 
tion. They seemed willing to die with their Lord, if 
that might be accepted. Why cannot I follow thee ? I 
will lay down my life for thee ! was the language of one, 
and even all, of them ; but they could not support the 
thought of a disconsolate separation. 

Their great and compassionate Master, seeing them 
thus dejected, endeavored to cheer their drooping 
spirits; ^^Let not your hearts be troubled." Listen 
attentively to what I am going to deliver for your 
consolation : I am going to prepare a place for you ; 
I will come again and receive you to myself, that where 
I am there ye may be also." A reviving word of prom- 
ise. They were one day to meet again their dear, their 
affectionate Master, in a place where they should live 
together to eternity. John xiv. 1, etc. 

But death makes so vast a distance between friends, 
and the disciples then knew so little of a future state, 
that they seemed to doubt whether they should, after 
their parting, meet their great Redeemer. They neither 
knew the place where he was going, nor the way that 
led to his kingdom : Lord," said Thomas, as we know 
not whither thou goest, how can we know the way ?" 
In answer to this question, he told tliem that he was 



378 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



" the way, the truth, and the life ;" as if he had said, 
Through the propitiatory sacrifice I am about to offer, the 
sacred truths I have delivered, and the divine assistance 
which I shall hereafter dispense, you are to obtain that 
happiness which I go to prepare for you in the house of 
my Father. 

Philip answered. Lord, show us but once the Father, 
and we shall be fully satisfied. 

Jesus replied. Have I been so long wdth you, Philip, 
and yet thou art a stranger to him who sent me ? I 
tell you, that to know one, is to be acquainted with 
both. 

Surely, then, ye have matter sufficient to comfort and 
support your spirits, under the thoughts of my departure 
from you. Ye have abundant reason to believe that I 
have power to perform all the promises I have made you ; 
and the design of my departure is actually to j)erform 
them. When I am returned to my Father, ye shall 
soon receive sufficient pledges of my care and remem 
brance of you. Ye shall be endued wdth powder not 
only to perform the same works ye have seen me do, as 
healing diseases, giving sight to the blind, casting out 
devils, and the like, for the conviction of the Jews : but 
even to do greater things than these ; to speak with all 
kinds of tongues, and to propagate my religion among 
the Gentiles, even through all the nations of the earth. 
John xiv. 12. 

And whatsoever ye shall ask of my Father, in my 
name, as being my disciples, and in order to promote 
the work of the gospel, shall certainly be granted you. 
That God may be greatly glorified by the extraordinary 
success and spreading of the religion of his Son, J say, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



379 



tfiat \rliatsoever ye shall ask^ T will take care, after my 
return to the Father, that it shall be granted you. 

The Father shall send you another advocate and 
comforter, even his Holy Spirit, the author and teacher 
of truth, who shall guide and direct, assist and comfort 
you in all cases. This Spirit the sensual and corrupt 
w^orld cannot receive ; having no knowledge of the 
divine truths or disposition to be governed by them. 
But ye know them, and are disposed to entertain them. 
The Spirit of the Father is already within you, by his 
secret and invisible efficacy ; and shall hereafter appear 
in you openly, by great and visible manifestations.* 

Thus, though I must depart from you, yet I do by 
no means leave you comfortless. I leave you with a 
promise of the Holy Spirit ; and I leave you in expecta- 
tion also of my own return. For though, after a very 
little while, I shall appear no more to the world, yet to 
you I will appear again ; for I shall live again, and ye 
also shall live with me. 

When, therefore, I have conquered and triumphed 
over death, ye shall understand more fully, and it shall 



This passage proves that the promise of the Spirit at Pentecost was 
not his first regenerating influence (which the disciples had ah-eady re- 
ceived), but rather a far higher measure of his influence — a measure 
worthy of the enthroned and glorified Son of God. Nor was this com- 
munication of the Spirit to be a transient thing, but abiding in the church 
in all ages, in a degree adequate to the personal preservation, consolation, 
and efficiency of believers in every land and age, to the end of the world. 
Hence the Gospel, as distinguished from the Law, is called " the minis- 
tration of the Spirit," and for that reason, the permanent ministration of 
life, righteousness, light, liberty, and glory. 2 Cor. iii. 3-18. His energy 
is not always manifested to the world, but is still latent in the church 
(1 John iv. 4) ; and faith and prayer are the means appointed to call it 
into vigorous and victorious action. Lukexi 13; Ephcs. iii. 13-21 ; vi. 18-20. 



380 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



appear more visible, by great and manifest effects, that 
I act in all things agreeably to my Father's will, and 
am perfectly invested with his power ; and that ye in 
like manner, have my power and commission communi- 
cated to you; so that there is a perfect unity and 
communion between us. Only ye must remember, that 
the one necessary condition on which all depends, is, 
that ye continue steadfast and immovable to me, in your 
faith and in your obedience to my commands. He, 
and he only, who embraces my doctrine, and obeys and 
practices it, shall be judged to be sincere in his love 
toward me. And he who loves me in that manner, 
shall be loved by my Father ; and I myself also will 
love him, and manifest myself to him. 

Here Judas Thaddeus interrupted his Master, saying, 
Lord, why wilt thou choose to manifest thyself to us, a 
few particular persons, and not to the generality of the 
world ? 

Jesus replied, I have already told you the reason for 
my acting in this manner ; because the generality of 
the world are not disposed to obey my commandments, 
the necessary condition of maintaining communion with 
me. But ye are disposed to embrace my doctrine, and 
to obey it; and therefore, I manifest myself to you. 
And whoever else will so love me as to keep my com- 
mandments, him also will I and my Father love, and 
will maintain communion with him, and all spiritual 
blessings shall be poured down upon him, and he shall 
be made partaker of happiness and eternal life. 

On the contrary, whoever loves me not, that is, obeys 
not my commandments, shall have no intercourse or 
communion with me. Neither will my Father lo\'e or 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



381 



honor him, or make any manifestations of himself to 
him ; for as my commandments are not my own, but 
the Father's commandments; therefore, whoever dis- 
honors me, my Father will look upon him as dishonoring 
himself. 

These things have I briefly spoken to you now, 
according to the shortness of the time I am to continue 
with you, and to comfort you for the present, against 
my departure. But when the Comforter whom I prom- 
ised you, is come, even the Holy Spirit, whom my 
Father shall send you on my account, he shall instruct 
you more fully, recalling to your remembrance what 
you have forgotten, explaining what is yet obscure, and 
supplying what is farther necessary to be taught you, 
and to be understood by you. 

In the meantime I take my leave of you, and my 
blessing I leave with you : not formally, and after the 
common fashion of the world, but affectionately and 
sincerely ; retaining a careful remembrance of you, and 
with an earnest desire and intention of returning again 
speedily to you. If you loved me with a wise and 
understanding affection, ye would rejoice, instead of 
grieving at my present departure ; because I am going 
to my Father, the supreme author of all glory and 
happiness. 

These things I have now told you before they come 
to pass, that when ye see them happen, your faith in 
me, and your expectation of the performance of all my 
promises, may be confirmed and strengthened. The 
time will not allow me to say much more to you, 
at present : my end draweth near, the ruler of this 
world, the prince of the power of darkness, is at this 



382 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



instant employing all his wicked instruments to appre- 
hend and destroy me.* Not that either the power of 
the devil, or the malice of man, can at all prevail over 
me, but because the time of my suffering, according to 
the appointment of divine wisdom, is arrived ; and that 
I may demonstrate to the world my love and obedience 
to my Father, I willingly submit myself to be put to 
death by the hands of sinful and cruel men. Else up, 
let us be going, that I may enter on my sufferings. 

Having thus spoken, they finished the supper with 
singing a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives. f 
On their arrival at the place which was to be the scene 
of his sufferings, he desired them to fortify themselves 



* The fearful prevalence of evil among men is implied in the title here 
conferred on Satan, " the prince of this world." Parallel passages else- 
where occur to indicate the same awakening thought. But here the 
words of Jesus seem to indicate not merely the active agency of Satan's 
instruments in compassing his betrayal and death, but a final assault of 
that malignant spirit on his soul in the garden of Gethsemane. To this 
agree the facts of his agony and bloody sweat, and the words addressed 
to his enemies, "But this is your hour, and the poiver of darkness.' 
Luke xxii. 52, 53. Compare Ephes. vi. 12, 13. 

t This view of our author is not certain, and not without difficulties. 
It compels us to suppose a division in the midst of our Lord's farewell 
discourse not easily to be conceived, and assigns no convenient place for 
what follows. But more than this, it conflicts directly with the words of 
John himself (John xviii. 1), where the passing across the Cedron to 
Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of OHves, is said to have followed 
^^he closing prayer of Jesus. 

The words, "Arise, let us go hence" (John xiv. 31), seem to have led 
to the mistake. But it is better to suppose that the disciples were too 
deeply affected to leave the room at the time, and resumed their seats j 
to which Jesus tenderly yielded and resumed his discourse. This sup- 
position is not at war with the positive testimony. Nothing could be 
more natural, indeed, than this lingering, and reseating themselves after 
rising t depart. It occurs among intimate friends every day. 



LITE OF CHEIST. 



383 



prayer, and forewarned them of tlie terrible effects 
liis sufferings would have upon them ; they would make 
them all stumble that very night, agreeably to the 
prophecy of Zechariah : ''I will smite the shepherd, 
and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." 
To strengthen their faith, therefore, he not only men- 
tioned his own resurrection, but told them they should 
see him in Galilee, after he was risen from the dead. 

On our blessed Saviour's mentioning the offence that 
his disciples would take at his suffering, Peter recol- 
lected what had been said to him in particular, before 
they left the house. Grieved, therefore, afresh, to find 
his Master entertain such thoughts of him, and being 
now armed with a sword, the vehemence of his temper 
urged him to boast a second time of his courageous and 
close attachment to his Master. ^' Though all men," 
said he, should be offended because of thee, yet will I 
never be offended." But Jesus, knowing that human 
confidence and security were weak and frail, thought 
proper to forewarn him again of his danger, and told 
him that the cock should not crow before he had denied 
him. 

Peter, however, still continued to repeat his confi- 
dence : I will die with thee, but never deny thee. The 
disciples all joined with Peter in professing their fixed 
resolution of suffering death rather than that they would 
deny their Master ; but the event fully confirmed the 
prediction of our Saviour. From hence we may learn 
how ignorant men are of their own hearts, and that the 
strongest resolutions in their own strength ^vail them 
nothinir. 

The compassionate Eedeemer of mankind, not will- 



384 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ing to lose one single moment of the short time of his 
ministry that yet remained, continued to instruct his 
disciples in the great truths he came into the world to 
explain ; and, from the vines which were growing round 
him on the Mount of Olives,* he began his excellent dis- 
course with the parable of the vine, to the following 
import : 

Hitherto, said the blessed Jesus, the Jewish church 
and nation have been the peculiar care of Providence ; 
as a choice and goodly vine, likely to bring forth much 
fruit, is the special care of the husbandman. But 
from henceforth my church, my disciples, and the pro- 
fessors of my religion, of what country or nation so- 
ever they be, shall become the people of God, and the 
peculiar care of Divine Providence. I will be to them 
the root and stock of a vine of which they are the 
branches and my Father the husbandman and vine- 
dresser. 

As in the management of a choice vine the skilful 
vine-dresser cuts off all barren and superfluous branches, 
that they may not burden nor exhaust the tree, and 
prunes and dresses the fruitful branches, that they 
may grow continually and so bear more fruit, thus, 
in the government -of my church, all useless, wicked, 
and incorrigible members, my Father, sooner or later, 
by his judgments, cuts off and destroys ; but those 
who are sincerely pious and good, he, by the various 
and merciful dispensations of his providence toward 
them, tries, purifies, and amends, that they may daily 
improve, and be more and more abundant in all good 
works. 



* See the foregoing note. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



385 



Now ye, my apostles,* are sucli members as these, 
being purified in heart and mind, and prepared for every 
good work, by your lively faith in me, and sincere res- 
olutions to obey my commands. Continue steadfastly 
in this state, and then you may be sure of deriving all 
spiritual blessings from me, as the branches receive sap 
and nourishment from the vine. But as a branch, with- 
out continuing in the vine, cannot bear any fruit, but 
presently dries up and perishes, so ye, unless ye continue 
steadfast in your communion with me (by a lively faith 
and sincere obedience, so as to receive grace and spiri- 
tual blessings), can never bring forth any good fruit of 
true holiness and righteousness, but will fall into vanity, 
superstition, and wickedness, and at last utterly perish. 

If you continue in me, by believing my words, and 
holding fast what ye believe, and obeying and practicing 
it accordingly, no power or malice, either of man or of 
devils, shall be able to hurt you or oppose your doctrines. 
For, though I be absent from you in body, I yet will 
hear your prayers, and my Father himself also will hear 
you ; and whatsoever ye shall ask, for the glory of the 
Almighty and the propagation of my true religion in the 
world, shall certainly be granted you. 

But, above all things, carefully remember to demon- 
strate your continuance in me by abounding in all good 
works of holiness, righteousness, and charity. This is 
the honor which my Father desires and expects from 
you ; even as it is the glory and desire of the vine-dresser 



Although the apostles were members of Christ, it was not as apostles, 
but as disciples or believers. Whatever was said to them here, belongs to 
every believer in Christ, if not in a primary, yet in a secondary sense. 
Christ is equally the root and support of all their spiritual life. 
25 



386 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



that his vine should bring forth much fruit. And this 
is the honor that I myself expect from you, that ye shall 
prove yourselves to be really and indeed my disciples, 
by imitating my exam23le and obeying my commands. 
This ye are bound to do, not only in duty, but in grati- 
tude also ; for, as my Father hath loved me, so have I 
also loved you ; and ye, in like manner, ought to love 
me again, that you may continue to be loved by me. 
But the way to express your love toward me, and to 
continue to be loved by me, is to keep my command- 
ments, even as I, by keeping my Father's commandments, 
have expressed my love toward him, and continue to be 
loved by him. 

These things have I spoken to you before my depar- 
ture, that the comfort ye have taken in my presence 
may be continued in my absence, and even increase 
with the coming of the Holy Spirit,* as it will be upon 
this condition, which I have so often repeated to you, 
that you keep my commandments. And the principal 
of these commandments is, that ye love one another; 
not after the common fashion of the world, but in such 
a manner as I have loved you ; nor can you be ignorant 
what sort of love that is, when I tell you that I am now 
going to lay down my life for you. This is the highest 
instance in which it is possible for a man to express his 
love toward his greatest friends and benefactors ; but 
this I am now going to do for you and for all mankind. 
I might, indeed, justly call you servants, considering the 
infinite distance between me and j'ou, and the obligation 
ye have to obey my commandments; but I have not 
treated you as servants (who are not admitted into their 



* Sec note on page 379 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



387 



master's counsels), but as friends, revealing to you 
the whole will of my Father wdth all freedom and 
plainness. 

I have, I say, behaved myself to you as to the 
nearest friends. Not that you first obliged me, or did 
any acts of kindness for me ; but I have freely, and of 
my own good pleasure, chosen you to be my apostles, 
and the preachers of my gospel, that you may go and 
declare the wdll of God to the world, and bring forth 
much and lasting fruit, in the conversion of men to the 
knowledge of the truth and to the profession and prac- 
tice of* true religion. In the performance of this work, 
whatsoever ye shall ask of my Father, in my name, in 
order to enable you to perform it effectually and with 
full success, shall certainly be granted you. 

Now, all these things which I have spoken unto 
you concerning the greatness of my love toward you, 
in choosing you to be my apostles, in revealing unto 
yoQ the whole will of my Father, and in laying down 
my life for you, I have urged and inculcated upon you 
for this reason chiefly, as I at first told you, that ye may 
learn, after my example, to " love one another." 

The world, indeed, you must expect, will hate and 
persecute you on my account. But this you ought not 
to be surprised or terrified at, knowing that it is no 
worse treatment than I myself have met with before 
you. Be not, therefore, surprised when you meet with 
opposition ; nor think to find better treatment in the 
Avorld than I myself have done. Remember what I 
have already told you, that the disciple is not above his 
master, nor is he that is sent greater than he that sent 
him. 



388 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



If men had generally and readily embraced my doc- 
trine, you might, indeed, have had some reason to ex- 
pect that they would willingly have received yours also. 
But since I myself have suffered great indignities and 
persecutions from wicked and perverse, from obstinate 
and incorrigible men, only for opposing their vices, it is 
highly reasonable that you should expect to undergo the 
like treatment upon the like account. In all which suf- 
ferings you will, moreover, have this further comfort- 
able consideration to support you, that the justice of 
your own cause, and the injustice of your persecutors', 
will by that means most evidently appear ; seeing ye 
are persecuted only for professing and preaching, in my 
name, the doctrine of true religion, and they persecute 
you only because they know not God, and out of mere 
malice will not bear to be instructed in his commands. 

Indeed, had not I appeared to the world with all pos- 
sible demonstrations of authority and truth, teaching 
them a most holy and undeniable doctrine, sufficient to 
reform their manners and amend their lives, and, more- 
over, demonstrated my divine commission by such 
proofs as ought to satisfy and convince the most doubt- 
ing and suspicious minds, they might have had some 
plea or excuse of ignorance for their unbelief. But 
now, since all reasonable evidence has been offered 
them, and proper methods used for their conversion and 
salvation, and yet they wilfully and obstinately reject 
these means of grace, it is plain they have no excuse for 
their sin; but they oppose and persecute you only 
because they will not forsake their worldly lusts, and 
out of mere malice will not bear to be instructed in the 
commands of the Almighty. So that they who oppose and 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



389 



persecute you^ as tliey have before persecuted me, show 
plainly that they are haters of God and of his most holy 
commandments ; which is, as I have already told you, a 
plain evidence of the justice of your own cause and of the 
injustice of your persecutors'. If I had not, T say, done 
such works among them as no man ever did, they might 
indeed have had some appearance of excuse for their sin. 
But it is no wonder, when men have given themselves 
wholly up to be governed by worldly affections, pas- 
sions, and vices, they should act contrary to all the 
reason and evidence in the world ; for this is but the 
natural consequence of obstinate and habitual wicked- 
ness ; and hereby is only fulfilled in me what holy 
David long since prophetically complained of, that they 
hated him without a cause. 

But, notwithstanding all the opposition that wicked 
and incorrigible men will make against my doctrine, 
there will not be wanting powerful promoters of it, who 
shall effectually overcome all opposition. For the Com- 
forter, whom, I said, I wdll send you from heaven, even 
that Spirit of truth" which cometh forth and is sent 
from the Father, shall, when he cometh, with wonder- 
ful efficacy, bear testimony to the truth of my doctrine, 
and cause it to be spread through the world with incredi- 
ble success. Nay, and ye yourselves also, though now 
so weak, fearful, and doubting, shall then very power- 
fully bear testimony to the truth of all the things 
whereof ye, having been all along present with me, 
have been eye-witnesses from the beginning. 

Thus have I warned you beforehand of the opposition 
and persecution ye must expect to meet with in the 
world, that when it cometh ye may not be surprised 



390 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



and terrified, so as to be discouraged thereby from per- 
sisting in the performance of your duty. 

Having finished his discourse, " Jesus lifted up his 
eyes to heaven, and prayed," with great fervency, to his 
Father. (The prayer itself is recorded in the seven- 
teenth chapter of John.) 

His prayer being ended, Jesus and his disciples came 
down from the Mount of Olives,* into a field below, 
called Gethsemane, through which the brook Cedron 
ran, and in it, on the other side of the brook, was a gar- 
den, called the Garden of Gethsemane. Here he desired 
his discijDles to sit down till he should, retire to pray, 
taking with him Peter, James, and John, those three 
select disciples whom he had before cho?en to be wit- 
nesses of his transfiguration, and now to be eye-witnesses 
of his passion, leaving the other disciples at the garden 
door, to watch the approach of Judas and his band. 

The sufferings he was on the point of undergoing 
were so great that the very prospect of them excited 
the exclamation, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death : tarry ye here, and watch."f On this great 
occasion, he sustained those grievous sorrows in his 
soul by which, as well as by dying on the cross, he 



* See second note on page 382. 

j The object of this watching was threefold. 1. That they might guard 
against surprisal from without and temptation within. 2. That they 
might witness the agony of the great Sufferer, and give him their united 
sympathy and prayers. 3. That they might be able to withstand the 
terrible shock of their Lord's betrayal into the hands of his bloodthirsty 
foes, who, under the sacred forms of justice, were about to condemn the 
spotless Son of God to a death of shame. How full of touching tender 
ness the question of Jesus, when he found them sleeping, "What I cn^-'ld 
ye not watch vnth me one hour ?" Matt. xvi. 40. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



391 



became a sin-offering and accomplished tlie redemption 
of mankind. 

He now withdrew from them about a stone's cast ; 
for his human nature being overburdened beyond 
measure, he found it necessary to retire and pray, that, 
if it was possible, or consistent with the salvation of 
the world, he might be delivered from the sufferings 
which were then lying on him. It was not the fear of 
dying on the cross which made him speak or pray in 
such a manner. To suppose this would infinitely 
degrade his character. Yet the blessed Jesus, whose 
human nature was strengthened by being connected 
with the divine, could not but shrink at the prospect 
of such sufferings as he had to endure. He addresses 
his Divine Father with a sigh of fervent wishes that 
the cup might, if possible, be removed from him. In 
the Greek, it is, Oh that thou wouldst remove this 
cup from me !" And having first knelt and prayed, he 
fell prostrate on his face, accompanying his address 
with due expressions of resignation, adding, imme- 
diately, '^^ Not as I will, but as thou wilt."* 

^ We cannot be too thankful for this perfect example of prayer under 
the most agonizing distress. The beloved Son of God utters no complaint 
of his Father, but flies to his bosom for relief. He fears no offence at his 
requests, as if they were in conflict with the foreknowledge and determi- 
nate counsel of God, or a surrender of his own great purpose in coming 
into the world to save sinners. He asks, he entreats, he implores reliot. 
but only in a way consistent with his Father's will and his Father's glory 
"VVitli him he leaves his case in absolute submission. He totally sacrifice?: 
his own will to that of his Father, in the full assurance that He cannot 
and will not do wrong, and that his sufferings shall not exceed, by a single 
iota, the measure required, "that God miglit be just, and the justificr 
of him that believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii 2G. How should his example 
be endeared to us by the fact that "he suffered for us, the just for the 
unjust that he might bring us to God !" 1 Fet, iii. 18, 



392 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



At length he obtained relief, being heard on account 
of his perfect and entire submission to the will of his 
heavenly Father. "And when he arose up from prayer, 
and was come to his disciples, he f( und them sleeping 
for sorrow." This circumstance shows how much his 
disciples were affected with their Master's sufferings. 
The sensations of grief which they felt on seeing his 
unspeakable distress so overpowered them that they 
sank into a sleep. 

Our blessed Saviour, for the last time, came to his 
disciples, and, seeing them still asleep, he said, " Sleep 
on now, and take your rest : behold, the hour is at 
hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands 
of sinners. Rise, let us be going : behold, he is at 
hand that doth betray me." Matt. xxvi. 45, 46. The 
event will soon be over which causes your sorrow : I 
am betrayed, and ready to be delivered unto death. 



CHAPTER XXXm. 

THE BliESSED REDEEMER IS TAKEN BY A BAND OF SOLDIERS 
AT THE INFORMATION OF THE TRAITOR JUDAS — HEALS A 
WOUND GIVEN THE HIGH-PRIESt's SERVANT BY SIMON 
PETER — FULFILMENT OF OUR LORD'S PREDICTION CONCERN- 
ING PETER THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD IS ARRAIGNED 

AT THE BAR OF THE SANHEDRIM, AND TRIED BY THE 
JEWISH COUNCIL. 

JuDAS, who had often resorted to the Garden of 
Gethsemane ' with the disciples of our Lord, knowing 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



393 



the spot and the usual time of his Master's repairing 
thither, informed the chief priests and elders that the 
time for apprehending Jesus was now come. They 
therefore sent a band of soldiers with him, and servants 
carrying lanterns and torches to show them the way ; 
because, though it was always full moon at the passover, 
the sky might be dark with clouds, and the place whither 
they were going was shaded with trees. At the same 
time, a deputation of their number accompanied the 
band, to see that every one did his duty. 

Judas having thus received a band of men and officers 
from the chief priests and Pharisees, they went thither 
with lanterns and torches and weapons ; for they were 
exceedingij^ anxious to secure and get him into their 
hands; and the soldiers, having, perhaps, never seen 
Jesus before, found it necessary that Judas should 
distinguish him, and point him out to them by some 
particular sign. When, therefore, they approached near 
the spot, Judas (who was at the head of the band) 
suddenly ran forward, and, coming up to Jesus, said, 
^'Hail, Master! and kissed him. And Jesus said unto 
him, Friend, wherefore art thou come ? Betrayest thou 
the Son of man with a kiss ?" Before, however, Judas 
could make any reply, the band (who had fixed their 
eyes on the person he had kissed) arrived immediately, 
and surrounded Jesus. 

Judas certainly concealed his treachery so well that 
Peter did not suspect him, or it is probable he would 
have struck at him rather than at Malchus, the high- 
priest's servant. 

The appointed time of our Lord's sufferings being now 
come he did not as formerly, avoid his enemies ; but, 



394 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Oil tlie contrary, on their telling liim they sought Jesus 
of Nazareth; he replied, I am he thereby intimating 
to them that he was willing to put himself into their 
hands. At the same time, to show them that they could 
not apprehend him without his own consent, he, in an 
extraordinary manner, exerted his divine power : he 
made the whole band fall back, and threw them to the 
ground. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that 
should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, 
Whom seek ye ? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. 
Jesus said unto them, I am he; and Judas also, who 
betrayed him, stood with them. As soon, then, as he 
had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and 
fell to the ground." But the soldiers and the Jews, im- 
agining perhaps that they had been thrown down by 
some demon or evil spirit, with whom the Jews said he 
was in confederacy, advanced toward him a second time. 
^^Then he asked again. Whom seek ye? And they 
said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I told you 
that I am he ;" expressing again his willingness to fall 
into their hands. " If, therefore, ye seek me, let these 
go their way." If your business be with me alone, suffer 
my disciples to pass : for the party had surrounded them 
also. He seems to have made this request to the soldiers, 
that the saying might be fulfilled which he spake, " Of 
them which thou gavest me have I lost none." For 
as he always proportioned the trials of his people to 
their strength, so here he took care that the disciples 
should escape the storm which none but himself could 
sustain. 

At length some, more daring than the rest, rudely 
caught Jesus and bound him ; upon which Peter drew 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



395 



his sword and smote off the ear of the high-priest's ser- 
vant, who probably was showing greater forwardness 
than the rest in this business : " Then Simon Peter, 
having a sword, drew it, and smote the high-priest's 
servant, and cut off his right ear : the servant's name 
was Malchus." The enraged disciple w\as on the point 
of singly attacking the whole band, when Jesus ordered 
him to sheath his sword, telling him that his unseason- 
able and imprudent defence might prove the occasion 
of his destruction. " Then said Jesus unto him, Put up 
thy sword in its place ; for all they that take the sword 
shall perish with the sword." Matt. xxvi. 52. He told 
him, likewise, that it implied both a distrust of God, 
wh© can always employ a variety of means for the 
safety of his people, and also his ignorance of the Scrip- 
tures. " Thinkest thou," said he, " that I cannot now 
pray to my Father, and he shall j)resently give me 
more than twelve legions of angels? But how then 
shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be 
Matt. xxvi. 53, 54. 

The word ^ Region" was a Roman military term, 
being a name which they gave to a body of five or six 
thousand men ; wherefore, in regard that the band 
which surrounded them was a Roman cohort, our Lord 
might make use of this term, by way of contrast, to 
show what an inconsiderable thing the cohort was in 
comparison to the force he could summon to his assist- 
ance — more than twelve legions, not of soldiers, but of 
angels. He was yet tenderly inclined to prevent any 
bad consequences which might have followed from 
Peter's rashness, by healing the servant, and adding, 
in his rebuke to him, a declaration of his willingness to 



39(3 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



suffer: "The cup which my Father hath given me, 
shall I not drink it 

The circumstance of his healing the ear of Malchus 
by touching it, evidently implies that no wound or 
distemper was incurable in the hand of J esus ; neither 
was any injury so great that he could not forgive. It 
seems somewhat surprising that this evident miracle did 
not make an impression upon the chief priests, 
especially as our Lord put them in. mind, at the same 
time, of the other miracles; for, having first said, 

Suffer ye thus far ; and he touched his ear and healed 
him," he added, "Be ye come out as against a thief, 
with sw^ords and staves ? When I was daily with you 
in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me : 
but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." Luke 
xxii. 51., etc. And the disciples, when thej' saw their 
Master in the hands of his enemies, forsook him, and fled, 
according to his prediction ; notwithstanding they might 
have followed him without any danger, as the priests 
had no design against them. "Then all the disciples 
forsook him, and fled. 

Then the band, and the captain and oflicers, took 
Jesus, and bound him." But it was not the cord which 
held him; his infinite love was by far the strongest 
bond. He could have broken those weak ties, and 
exerted his divinity in a more wonderful manner ; he 
could have stricken them all dead with as much ease 
as he had before thrown them on the ground ; but he 
patiently submitted to this, as to everj- other indignity 
which they chose to offer him, so meek was he under 
the greatest injuries. Having thus secured him, they 
led him awav. "And there followed him a certain 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



397 



young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked 
body; and the young men laid hold on him, and he 
left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked." This, 
perhaps, was the proprietor of the garden, who, being 
awakened by the noise, came out with the linen cloth 
in which he had been lying cast round his naked 
body, and having a respect for Jesus, followed him, 
forgetting the dress he was in."^ 

They first led Jesus to Annas, father-in-law of Caia- 
phas, who was the high-priest that year. Annas, 
having himself discharged the office of high-priest, was 
consequently a person of distinguished character, which, 
together with his relation to the high-priest, made him 
worthy of the respect they now paid him. But he 
refused, singly, to meddle in the affair : they therefore 
carried Jesus to Caiaphas himself, at whose palace the 
chief priests, elders, and scribes were assembled, having 
stayed there all night to see the issue of their stratagem. 
This Caiaphas was he that advised the council to put 
Jesus to death, even admitting he was innocent, for the 
safety of the whole Jewish nation. He seems to have 
enjoyed the sacerdotal dignity during the whole course 
of Pilate's government in J udea ; for he was advanced 
to it by Valerius Gracchus, Pilate's predecessor, and was 
divested of it by Yitellius, governor of Syria, after he 
had deposed Pilate from his procuratorship. 

The apprehending of their dear Master could not but 
strike his disciples with horror and amazement. Though 
he had forewarned them of that event, such was their 
consternation that they fled different ways; some of 



Mark only mentions this fact. Might not he be the young man? 



398 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



them, however, recovering out of the panic that had 
seized them, followed the band at a distance, to see 
what the issue would be. Of this number was Peter, 
and another disciple, whom John has mentioned without 
giving his name, and who therefore is supposed to have 
been John himself. This disciple, being acquainted at 
the high-priest's, got admittance for himself first, and 
soon after for Peter, who had come with him. "And 
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. 
That disciple was known unto the high-priest, and went 
in with Jesus into the palace of the high-priest. But 
Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that 
other disciple, which was known unto the high-priest, 
and spake unto them that kept the door, and brought 
in Peter. And when they had kindled a fire in the 
midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter 
sat down amongst them." The maid-servant who kept 
the door, concluding Peter to be a disciple also, follow^ed 
after him to the fire, and, looking earnestly at him, 
charged him with the supposed crime. " Then said the 
damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou 
also one of this man's disciples ?" This blunt attack 
threw Peter into such confusion that he flatly denied 
his having any connection with Jesus; replying, "I am 
not," and adding, " I know not, neither understand I, 
what thou sayest." As if he had said, I do not under- 
stand any reason for your asking me such a question. 

Thus, the very apostle who had before acknowledged 
his Master to be the Messiah, the Son of the living 
God, and had so confidently boasted of his fortitude 
and firm attachment to him in the greatest dangers, 
proved himself an arrant ' deserter of his cause upon 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



399 



trial. His shameful fears were altogether inexcusable, 
as the enemy who attacked him was one of the weaker 
sex, and the terror of the charge was in a great measure 
taken off by the insinuation made in it that John was 
likewise known to be Christ's disciple ; for, as he was 
known at the high-priest's, he was consequently known 
in that character. ^^Art thou not also one of this man's 
disciples ?" Art thou not one of them, as well as he 
who is sitting with you ? Nothing can account for this 
conduct of Peter, but the confusion and panic which 
had seized him on this occasion.* As his inward pertur- 
bation must have appeared in his countenance and 
gesture, he did not choose to stay long with the servants 
at the fire. He went out, therefore, into the porch, 
where he was a little concealed. '^And he went into 
the porch : after he had been some time there, another 
maid saw him, and began to say to them that stood by, 
This is one of them ; and he again denied, with an oath, 
I know not the man;" adding perjury to falsehood. 

After Peter had been thus attacked without-doors, he 
thought proper to return and mix with the crowd at 
the fire. '^And Simon Peter stood and warmed him- 
self." From this circumstance, it is clear that the en- 
suing was the third denial, and that Peter left the 

^ The vivid remembrance of the rash blow inflicted on Malchus, and 
the apprehension that he might be recognized and called to account for 
it at any moment, distracted Peter's mind and for the time quite par- 
alyzed the power of his faith. Even the inward strength of a good con- 
science was gone, and utter mental confusion followed. Natural courage 
failed in these trying circumstances, for want of the moral basis on which 
it was accustomed to rally and rest. Tossed, like wheat in the sieve of 
the Tempter, from sin to sin, without strength, purpose, or prayer, he must 
have perished but for the love and intercession of the suffering Saviour 
whom he so fearfully denied. 



400 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



porcli; wliere the second denial hapj)enedj and was come 
again into the hall. ^^Here one of the servants of the 
high-priest (being his kinsman whose ear Peter cut off) 
saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? 
Peter then denied again, and immediately the cock 
crew." The words of Malchus's kinsman, brmging to 
Peter's remembrance what he had done to that man, 
threw him into such a panic that, when those who stood 
by repeated the charge, he impudently denied it : He 
even began to curse and to swear, saying. I know not 
this man of whom you speak." For when they heard 
Peter deny the charge they supported it by an argu- 
ment drawn from the accent with which he pionounced 
his answer. Surely thou art one of them; for thou 
art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto ;" so that 
being pressed on all sides, to give his lie the better color 
he profaned the name of God, by imprecating the bit- 
terest curses on himself if he was telling a falsehood. 
Perhaps he hoped by these acts of impiety to con- 
vince them effectually that he vv^as not the disciple of 
the holj' Jesus. 

Thus, the apostle denied his Master three distinct 
times, with oaths and asseverations, totally forgetting 
the vehement protestations he had made, a few hours 
before, that he would never deny him. He was prob- 
ably permitted to fall in this manner, to teach us two 
lessons: first, that the strongest resolutions formpd in 
our own strength cannot withstand the torrent of temp- 
tation ; secondly, that the true disciples of Christ, though 
they fall, may be brought to a conviction of their sin ; 
for he no sooner denied his Master the third time than 
the cock crew and first awakened in him a conscious- 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



401 



ness of his sin. ^^And the Lord turned and looked upon 
Peter ; and Peter remembered the words of the Lord, 
how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, tliou 
shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept 
bitterly." 

When the band of soldiers arrived at the high-priest's 
with Jesus, they found there all the chief priests and 
scribes and the elders assembled : "And as soon as it was 
day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests and the 
scribes, came together, and led him into their council. 
And the high-priest asked Jesus of his disciples and his 
doctrine." He inquired of him what his disciples were; 
for what end he had gathered them ; whether it was to 
make himself a king ; and what the doctrine was which 
he taught them. Li these questions there was a great 
deal of art ; for, as the crime laid to our Saviour's charge 
was that he had set up for the Messiah and deluded the 
people, they expected that he would claim that dignity 
in their presence, and so would, on his own confession, 
have condemned him without any further process. 
This was unfair, as it was artful and ensnaring. To 
oblige a prisoner on his trial to confess what might 
take away his life was a very iniquitous method of pro- 
ceeding ; and Jesus expressed his opinion thereof with 
very good reason, and complained of it, bidding them 
prove what they had laid to his charge with witnesses. 

Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I 
ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither 
the Jews always resorted; and in secret have I said 
nothing.* Why asked thou me ? ask them which heard 



* Nothing different from what he had said in public. 

26 



402 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



me, what I have said unto them : behold, they know 
what I said." 

It was greatly to the honor of our blessed Eedeemer 
that all his actions were done in public, under the eyes 
even of his enemies ; because, had he been carrying on 
any imposture, the lovers of goodness and truth had 
thus abundant opportunities of detecting him with pro- 
priety : he, therefore, in his defence appealed to that 
part of his character. But his answer was construed to 
be disrespectful ; " for, when he had thus spoken, one 
of the officers, which stood by, struck Jesus with the 
palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high- 
priest so?" To which he meekly replied, with the 
greatest serenity, ^'If I have spoken evil, bear witness 
of the evil ; but if well, why smitest thou me ?" Show 
me, prove before this court, wherein my crime consists, 
or record it in the evidence on the face of my trial ; 
which if you cannot, how can you answer for this inhu- 
man treatment of a defenceless prisoner, standing on his 
trial before the world and in open court ? Thus Jesus 
became an example of his own precept, Whosoever 
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the 
other also" (Matt. v. 39), bearing the greatest injuries 
with a patience that could not be provoked. 

When the Council found that Jesus declined answer- 
ing the questions whereby they expected to have drawn 
from him an acknowledgment of his being the Messiah, 
they proceeded to examine many witnesses to prove his 
having assumed that character; as they considered 
such a pretension as blasphemy in his mouth, who, 
being only a man, according to their opinion, could not, 
without the highest affront of the Divine Majesty, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



403 



pretend to the title of the Son of God, as it belonged 
to the Messiah. 

But in this examination they acted like interested 
and enraged persecutors, rather than as impartial judges, 
forming their questions in the most artful manner, in 
order, if possible, to draw expressions from him which 
they might pervert into suspicions of guilt, as some 
foundation for condemning Jesus, who had so long and 
faithfully labored for their salvation. 

Their witnesses, however, disappointed them, some of 
them disagreeing in their story, and others mentioning 
things of no manner of importance. At last, two per- 
sons agreed in their depositions : namely, in hearing 
him say that he was able to destroy the temple of God, 
and to raise it in three days. But this testimony was 
absolutely false ; for our great Redeemer never said he 
could destroy and build the temple of Jerusalem in 
three days, as they affirmed. It is true that, after 
banishing the traders from the temple, when the Jews 
desired to know by what authority he undertook to 
make such reformation, he referred them to the miracle 
of his resurrection; bidding them ^^destroy this temple," 
pointing, probably, to his body, '^and in three days he 
would raise it up." The witnesses therefore, either 
through malice or ignorance, perverted his answer into 
an affirmation that he was able to destroy and build 
the magnificent temple of J erusalem in three days ; and 
the judges considered this assertion as blasphemy, 
because it could only be done by the Divine power. 

Our Saviour made no reply to the evidences that were 
produced against him — which greatly incensed the high- 
priest, who, supposing that he intended, by his silence, 



404 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to put an affront on the council, rose from his seat, and, 
with great perturbation, demanded the reason of so 
remarkable a conduct. "Answerest thou nothing? said 
he : What is it which these witness against thee ?" 
And some of the council added, "^^Art thou the Christ?" 
To which our blessed Saviour answered. If I should 
tell you plainly, you would not believe me ; and if I 
should demonstrate it to you by the most evident and 
undeniable arguments, ye would neither be convinced 
nor let me go. The high-priest, finding all his attempts 
to trepan our Saviour in vain, said to him, I adjure 
you solemnly, by the dreadful and tremendous name of 
God, in whose presence you stand, that you tell me 
plainly and truly whether you are the Messiah, the Son 
of God. 

The consequence attending the confession of the truth 
did not intimidate the blessed Jesus ; for, being adjured 
by the chief magistrate, he immediately acknowledged 
the charge ; adding. Ye shall shortly see a convincing 
evidence of this truth, in that wonderful and unparal- 
leled destruction which will fall upon the Jewish 
nation ; in the quick and powerful progress which the 
gospel shall make upon the earth ; and, finally, in my 
glorious appearance in the clouds of heaven at the last 
day — the sign you have so often demanded in confirma- 
tion of my mission. * 

Upon our blessed Saviour's making this answer, a 
number of them cried out at once, ''Art thou the Son 
of God ?" To which our great Redeemer replied, " Ye 
say that I am a manner of speaking among the Jews 
which expressed a plain and strong affirmation of the 
thing expressed. When the high-priest heard this 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



405 



second assertion, tie rent his clothes with great indigna- 
tion, and said unto the Council, Why need we trouble 
ourselves to seek for more witnesses ? Ye yourselves, 
nay, this whole assembly are witnesses that he hath 
spoken manifest and notorious blasphemy. What think 
ye ? To which they all replied that for assuming to 
himself the character of the Messiah he deserved to be 
put to death. 

Then began the servants and common people to fall 
upon him, as a man already condemned — spitting upon 
him, buffeting him, and offering all manner of rudeness 
and indignities. They blindfolded him ; and some of 
the council, in order to ridicule him for having professed 
to be the Great Prophet, bade him exercise his prophet- 
ical gift, in declaring who had smitten him. 

Such was the treatment of the Son of God, the 
Saviour of sinners, which, though derogatory to his 
character, he bore with patience and resignation, leaving 
his people an example to follow his steps and to submit 
to the will of God in all things, nor murmur at any of 
the dispensations of his providence. 



m 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTEE XXXIY. 

OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR IS CARRIED BEFORE THE ROMAN 
GOVERNOR THE TRAITOR JUDAS BECOMES HIS OWN EX- 
ECUTIONER PILATE PUBLICLY ACQUITS JESUS AND REFERS 

HIS CASE TO THE DECISION OF HEROD. 

The blessed J esus being thus condemned by the unani- 
mous* voice of the grand assembly, it was resolved to 
carry, him before the governor, that he likewise might 
pass sentence on him. The Roman governors of Judea 
generally resided at Cesarea ; but at the great feast they 
came up to Jerusalem, to prevent or suppress tumults and 
to administer justice, it being a custom for the Roman 
governors of provinces to visit the principal towns under 
their jurisdiction on this latter account. Pilate, being 
accordingly come to Jerusalem some time before the 
feast, had been informed of the great ferment among the 
rulers, and the true character of the person on whose 
account it was raised, for he entertained a just notion 
of it : " He knew that for envy they had delivered 
him." He knew the cause of their envy, was impressed 
with a favorable opinion of Jesus, and wished, if possible, 
to deliver him from his vile persecutors. 

Early in the morning the Jewish Council brought 
Jesus to the hall of judgment, or governor's palace. 
They themselves, however, went not into the hall, but 



* Not quite unanimous. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea pro- 
tested against it or at least did not consent to it. \ 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



407 



stood withoutj lest they should be defiled, and rendered 
incapable of eating the passover. 

Now Judas Iscariot, who had delivered his Master 
into the hands of the council, finding his project turn 
out very differently from what he expected, was filled 
with remorse for what he had done.* He saw all 
his golden dreams of temporal honors and advantages 
sunk at once to nothing ; he saw his kind, his indulgent 
Master condemned and forsaken by all his followers. 
He saw all this, and determined to make all the satis- 
faction in his power for the crime he had committed. 
Accordingly, he came and confessed openly his sin 
before the chief priests and rulers, offered them the 
money they had given him to commit it, and eaxnestly 
wished he could recall the fatal transaction of the pre- 
ceding night. It seems he thought this was the most 
public testimony he could possibly give of his Master's 
innocence. I have, said he, committed a most horrid 
crime, by betraying an innocent man to death. But this 
moving speech of Judas had no effect on the callous hearts 
of the Jewish rulers. They affirmed that, however he 
might think the prisoner innocent, and for that reason 
had sinned in bringing the sentence of death upon his 

* Eemorse is the proper term to express the feelings of Jiulas. The 
original word used in reference to him is never used to express genuine 
repentance, which is alwa^^s repentance toward G-od," and leads to -'faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts xx. 21. Judas "repented himself," that 
is, w^as terribly troubled about the consequences of his crime, but thought 
it still in his power to counteract them by a confession to man and return 
of the money received. When these efforts failed, he fell into despair. 
Peter weeps bitterly with the tenderness of returning love ; but Judas 
cannot weep, for he does not love the Master he has so deliberately 
w^ronged and heartlessly betrayed. It is the ver^' contrast depicted by 
Paul in 2 Cor. vii. 10. 



iOS 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



liecad, they were not to blame ; because they knew him 
a blasphemer, who deserved to die. What is that to us?" 
said they : see thou to that." Nay, they even refused 
to take the money they had given him as a reward 
for performing the base act of betraying his Master. 

The deepest remorse now seized upon the wretched 
Judas, and his soul was agitated by the horrors of 
despair. The innocence and benevolence of his Master, 
the many favors he himself had received from him, and 
the kind offices he had done for the sons and daughters 
of affliction, crowded at once into his mind and rendered 
his torments intolerable. Racked with these agonizing 
passions, and unable to support the misery, he threw 
down the wages of his iniquity in the temple, and, 
confessing at the same time his own sin and the in- 
nocence of his Master, went away in despair, and hanged 
himself 

Thus perished J udas Iscariot, the traitor, a miserable 
example of the fatal influence of covetousness, and a 
standing monument of Divine vengeance, to deter future 
generations from acting in opposition to the dictates of 
conscience through a love for the things of this world ; 
for which this wretched mortal betrayed his Master, his 
Friend, his Saviour, and accumulated such a load of 
guilt on himself as sunk his soul into the lowest pit of 
perdition. 

The pieces of silver cast down by Judas were gathered 
up and delivered to the priests, who, thinking it unlaw- 
ful to put them into the treasury, because they were the 
wages of a traitor, agreed to lay them out in purchasing 
the potter's held, and making it a common burial-place 
for strangers. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



409 



We have already observed that the chief priests and 
elders refused to go themselves into the judgment- 
hall, lest they should contract some pollution in the 
house of a heathen, which would have rendered them 
unfit for eating the passover. The same reason also 
hindered them from entering the governor's palace, on 
other festivals, when that magistrate attended in order 
to administer justice : a kind of structure was there- 
fore erected, adjoining to the palace, which served 
instead of a tribunal or judgment-seat. This structure, 
called in the Hebrew Gahbatlia, was finely paved with 
small pieces of marble of different colors, being always 
exposed to the weather. One side of this structure 
joined to the palace, and a door was made in the wall, 
through which the governor passed to the tribunal. 
By this contrivance the people might stand round the 
tribunal in the open air, hear and see the governor 
when he spake to them from the pavement, and observe 
the v/hole administration of justice, without danger of 
being defiled either by him or any of his retinue. 

Before this tribunal the great Kedeemer of mankind 
w^as brought, and the priests and elders having taken 
their places around the pavement, the governor ascended 
the judgment-seat and asked them what accusation they 
had to brhig against the prisoner. Though nothing 
was more natural than for the governor to ask this 
question, yet the Jews thought themselves highly 
afironted by it, and haughtily answered, If he had not 
been a very great and extraordinary malefactor, we 
should not have given you this trouble at all, much less 
at so unseasonable an hour. 

Pilate then examined Jesus, and, finding he had not 



410 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



been guilty of rebellion or sedition, but that he was ac- 
cused of particulars relating to the religion and customs 
of the Jews, grew angry, and said, What are these 
things to me ? Take him yourselves, and judge him ac- 
cording to your own law ; plainly insinuating that, in 
his opinion, the crime they laid to the prisoner's charge 
was not of a capital nature, and that such punishments 
as they were permitted by Caesar to inflict were adequate 
to any misdemeanor that Jesus was charged with. But 
this proposal of the Roman governor was absolutely re- 
fused by the Jewish priests and elders, because it con- 
demned the whole proceeding ; and therefore they an- 
swered. We have no power to put any one to death, as this 
man certainly deserves, who has attempted not only to 
make innovations in our religion, but also to set up him- 
self for a king. 

The eagerness of the Jews to get Jesus condemned 
by the Roman governor, who often sentenced malefac- 
tors to be crucified, tended to fulfil the saying of our 
great Redeemer, who, during the course of his minis- 
try, had often mentioned wlip.t kind of death he was, by 
the counsel of his Father, appointed to die. 

Pilate, finding it impossible to prevent a tumult 
unless he proceeded to try Jesus, ascended again the 
judgment-seat, and commanded his accusers to produce 
their accusations against him. Accordingly, they ac- 
cused him of seditious practices, affirming that he had 
used every method in his power to dissuade the people 
from paying taxes to Caesar, pretending that he himself 
was the Messiah, the great King of the Jews, so long 
expected. But they brought no proof of these assertions. 
They only insinuated they had already convicted him 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



411 



of this assertion, which was absolutely false. Pilate, 
however, asked him, Is it true what these men lay to 
your charge, that you have indeed attempted to set 
up yourself as King of the J ews ? 

To which Jesus replied, Have you ever, during your 
stay in this province, heard any thing of me that gave 
you reason to suspect me of secret practices and seditious 
designs against the government ? or do you found your 
question only on the present clamor and tumult that is 
raised against me ? If this be the case, be very careful 
lest you be imposed on merely by the ambiguity of a 
word ; for to be King of the Jews" is not to erect a 
temporal throne in opposition to that of Caesar, but a 
thing of very different nature : the kingdom of the Mes- 
siah is a heavenly kingdom. To which Pilate replied. 
Am I a Jew ? Can I tell what your expectations are, 
and in what sense you understand these words ? The 
rulers and chiefs of your own people, who are the most 
proper judges of these particulars, have brought you 
before me as a riotous and seditious person : if this be 
not the truth, let me know what is, and the crime thou 
hast been guilty of. 

Jesus answered, I have indeed a kingdom, and this 
kingdom I have professed to establish. But then it is 
not of this world, nor have my endeavors to establish it 
any tendency to cause disturbances in the government. 
For, had that been the case, my servants would not 
have suffered me to have fallen into the hands of the 
Jews. But I tell you plainly, my kingdom is v/hollj 
spiritual."^' I reign in the hearts of my people^ and sub- 



* This is not to be understood in so restricted a sense as to exclude (iie 
Saviour's claim to a higher dominion in the heavenly world. EpJic U 



412 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



due their wills and affections into a conformity to the 
will of God. You acknowledge, then, in general, 
answered Pilate, that you have professed to be a king? 
To which the blessed Jesus replied. In the sense I have 
told you, I have declared, and do now declare, myself 
to be A KING. For this very end I was born, and for 
this purpose I came into the world, that I should bear 
witness to the truth ; and whosoever sincerely loves and 
is always ready to embrace the truth will hear my tes- 
timony, and be convinced of it. Pilate answered, 
^^What is truth?" and immediately went out to the 
Jews, and said unto them, I have again examined this 



19-23. Even the dying thief recognized in Jesus the Lord of that higher 
kingdom. Luke xxiv. 42. How far the resources of that universal king- 
dom may be made to bear upon the advancement of his spiritual kingdom 
on earth, we know not fully now (Matt, xxviii. 18-20) ; but this is certain, 
that they are never used to destroy its spiritual character, and this is the 
point all important in our Lord's words to Pilate. 

The real question at issue before the Roman governor was, -'Is Jesus a 
king in any such sense as must involve rebellion against Osesar ?" Now 
on this point our Lord's answer is perfectly explicit, and entirely con- 
sistent with his Avhole doctrine and deportment from the beginning of his 
ministry. In fact, it was this spirituality of his kingdom that most 
offended the Jewish people and stumbled his own disciples, who could not 
reconcile it with the popular idea of the Messiah. Yet Daniel had ex- 
pressly foretold that Messiah's kingdom should be diverse from all other 
kingdoms, particularly in this, that his people should be " the people of 
the saints," ^. e., a holy people. Dan. vii. 27. Hence the words of Jesus 
to Nicodemus, on the need of a regenerating change in all who would 
enter it, here and hereafter. John iii. 3. 

That this spiritual nature of his kingdom was a point which admitted no 
compromise, may be seen by reference to the remarks of Neander in the 
note on p. 55, where he shows the issue involved in the temptation to 
receive from Satan's hands " all the kingdoms of the world and the glory 
of th(im." Christ could die for the truth on this point, but the diadem 
of CjEsar could not tempt him to compromise or abandon it. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



413 



man, but cannot find him guilty of any fault which, 
according to the Roman law, is worthy of death. 

The generous declaration made by the governoi of 
the innocence of our blessed Saviour had no effect on 
the superstitious and bigoted Jews. They even per- 
sisted in their accusations with more vehemence than 
before, affirming that he attempted to raise a sedition in 
Galilee: "He stirreth up," said they, the people, be- 
ginning from Galilee to this place." 

Jesus, however, made no answer at all to this heavy 
charge. Nay, he continued silent, notwithstanding the 
governor himself expressly requested him to speak in his 
own defence. A conduct so extraordinary in such cir- 
cumstances astonished Pilate exceedingly ; for he had 
great reason to be persuaded of the innocence of our 
dear Redeemer. The truth is, he was altogether igno- 
rant of the divine counsel by which the whole affair 
was directed. 

There were many reasons which induced the blessed 
Jesus not to make a public defence. He came into the 
world purely to redeem lost and undone sinners, by 
offering up himself a sacrifice for them ; but, had he 
pleaded with his usual force, the people had, in all 
probability, been induced to ask his release, and conse- 
quently his death had been prevented. Besides, the 
gross falsehood of the accusation, known to all the in- 
habitants of Galilee, rendered any reply absolutely 
needless. 

In the meantime, the chief priests continued to accuse 
him with great noise and tumult. And the meek and 
humble Jesus still continuing mute, Pilate spake again 
to him, saying. Wilt thou continue to make no defence ? 



414 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Dost thou not hear how vehemently these men accuse 
thee? But Pilate, recollecting what the chief priests 
had said with regard to a sedition in Galilee, asked if 
J esus came out of that country ; and, on being informed 
he did, he immediately ordered him to be carried to 
Herod, who was also then at Jerusalem. The governor 
supposed that Herod, in whose dominion the sedition 
was said to have been raised, must be a much better 
judge of the affair than himself ; besides, his being a 
Jew rendered him more versed in the religion of his 
own country, and gave him greater influence over the 
chief priests and elders : he therefore considered him as 
the most proper person to prevail on the Jewish council 
to desist from their cruel persecution. But if, contrary 
to all human probability, he should, at their solicitation, 
condemn Jesus, Pilate hoped to escape the guilt and in- 
famy of putting an innocent person to death. He might 
also propose, by this action, to regain Herod's friendship, 
which he had formerly lost, by encroaching, in all prob- 
ability, on his privileges. 

But however that be, or whatever motive induced 
Pilate to send our great Redeemer to Herod, the latter 
greatly rejoiced at this opportunity of seeing Jesus, 
hoping to have the pleasure of beholding him perform 
some great miracle. In this he was, however, disap- 
appointed; for, as Herod had apostatized from the 
doctrine of John the Baptist, to which he was once 
probably a convert, and had even put his teacher to 
death, the blessed Jesus, however liberal of his miracles 
to the sons and daughters of affliction, would not work 
them to gratify the curiosity of a tyrant, nor even 
answer one of the many questions he proposed to him. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



415 



Herod, finding his expectations thus cut off, ordered 
the blessed Saviour to be clothed with an old robe, re- 
sembling in color those worn by kings, and permitted 
his attendants to insult him. From Herod's dressing 
him in this manner, it evidently appears that the chief 
priests and elders had accused him of nothing but his 
having assumed the character of the Messiah ; for the 
affront put upon him was plainly in derision of that 
profession. 

The other head of accusation — namely, his having 
attempted to raise a sedition in Galilee, on account of 
tribute paid to Csesar — they did not dare to mention, as 
Herod could not fail of knowing it to be a gross and 
malicious falsehood. And, no crime worthy of death 
being laid to his charge, Herod sent him again to Pilate. 
It seems that though he was displeased with the great 
Redeemer of mankind for refusing to work a miracle 
before him, yet he did not think proper to comply with 
the wishes of his enemies. 



CHAPTER XXXY. 

THE ROMAN GOVERNOR, FOR WANT OF EVIDENCE, PROPOSES 
TO ACQUIT AND RELEASE JESUS THREE SEVERAL TIMES ; 
BUT, AT THE PRESSING INSTIGATION OF THE JEWS, HE 
CONDEMNS AND DELIVERS HIM UP. 

The Roman governor, in order to acquire popular 
applause, used generally, at the Feast of the Passover, 



41(3 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



to release a prisoner nominated bv the people. At this 
feast there was one in prison, named Barabbas, who, at 
the head of a number of rebels, had made an insurrec- 
tion in the city and committed murder during the 
confusion. 

The multitude, being now assembled before the 
governor's palace, began to call aloud on him to perform 
the annual office of mercy customary at that festival. 

Pilate, glad of this opportunity, told them that he 
was very willing to grant the favor they desired, and 
asked them whether they would have Barabbas or Jesus 
released unto them. But, without waiting for an 
answer, he offered to release Jesus, knowing that the 
chief priests had delivered him through envy ; especially 
as Herod had not found him guilty of the crimes laid to 
his charge. 

While these particulars were transacting, Pilate 
received a message from his wife, then with him at 
Jerusalem,* and who had that morning been greatly 
affected by a dream, which gave her much uneasiness. 
The dream had so great an effect on this Eoman lady, 
that she could not rest till she had sent an account of 
it to her husband, who was then sitting with the tribunal 

* Under the Emperor Tiberias, for the first time, the governors of pro- 
vinces were permitted to take their wives with them. According to tradi- 
tion, the name of this wife of Pilate was Claudia Porcula, and it is sup- 
posed by some that she had secretly embraced the Jewish faith. 

On the question whether her dream was natural or supernatural, Calmet 
remarks : "As our Saviour was apprehended about midnight, out of the 
city, and without Pilate's privity and detained in the house of Annas 
until it was day, there was no possibility of her having any notice of it 
before she went to bed, and, therefore, we have the juster reason to 
believe that this dream was sent providentially upon her, for the clearer 
manifestation of our Lord's innocence." 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



417 



on the pavement, and begged him to have no hand in 
the death of the righteous person he was then judging. 

The people had not yet determined whether they 
would have Jesus or Barabbas released to them : there- 
fore, when Pilate received the message from his wife, 
he called the chief priests and rulers together, and, in 
the hearing of the multitude, made a speech to them, 
in which he gave them an account of the examination 
which Jesus had undergone, both at his own and 
Herod's tribunal, declaring that in both courts it had 
turned out honorably to his character ; for which reason 
he proposed to them that he should be the object of the 
people's favor. Pilate did the priests the honor of 
desiring to know their inclination in particular, perhaps 
with a design to soften their stony hearts, and, if possi- 
ble, to move them for once to pity an injured but 
innocent man. But he was persuaded that, if pity was 
absolutely banished from their callous breasts, his pro- 
posals would have been acceptable to the people, who 
he expected would embrace the first opportunity of 
declaring in his favor ; yet in this he was disappointed. 
They cried out, all at once, ''Away with this man, and 
release unto us Barabbas." 

Pilate himself was astonished at this determination 
of the multitude, and repeated his question ; for he could 
hardly believe what he had himself heard. But, on 
their again declaring that they desired Barabbas might 
be released, he asked them what he should do with 
Jesus, which is called Christ. As if he had said. You 
demanded that Barabbas should be released ; but what 
shall I then do with Jesus ? You cannot surely desire 
me to crucify him, whom so many of you have acknowl- 

27 



418 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



edged as your Messiah ? But they cried, saying, 
Crucify him ! crucify him ! Then Pilate said unto them, 
Why, what evil hath he done ? And they cried out 
the more exceedingly, Crucify him !" They were so 
resolutely determined to have him destroyed, that, not- 
withstanding the governor urged them again and again 
to desire his release, declared his innocence, and offered 
several times to dismiss him, they would not hear it, 
uttering their rage, sometimes in hollow, distant, 
inarticulate murmurs, and sometimes in furious outcries 
— to such a pitch were their passions raised by the craft 
and artful insinuations of the priests. Pilate, finding 
it therefore in vain to struggle with their prejudices, 
called for water, and washed his hands before the mul- 
titude, crying out, at the same time, that the prisoner 
had no fault, and that he himself was innocent of his 
blood. 

By this action and declaration Pilate seems to have 
iiitended to make an impression on the Jewish populace, 
by complying with the institution of Moses, which 
oiders, in case of an unknown murder, the elders of the 
nearest city to wash their hands publicly, and say, 

Our hands have not shed this blood." Deut. xxi. 7. 
And in allusion to this law, the Psalmist says, ''1 will 
wash my hands in innocence." According, therefore, 
to the Jewish rite, Pilate made the most solemn and 
public demonstration of the innocence of our Redeemer, 
and of his resolution of having no hand in his death. 
But, notwithstanding the solemnity of this declaration, 
the Jews continued inflexible, and cried out with one 
voice, His blood be on us and on our children." Dread- 
ful imprecation ! it shocks humanity ! An imprecation 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



419 



which brought on them the dreadful vengeance of 
Omnipotence J and is still a heavy burden on that people ! 
The governor, finding it impossible to alter their 
choice, released unto them Barabbas. And, as it was 
the general practice of the Romans to scourge those 
criminals they condemned to be crucified, Pilate ordered 
the blessed Jesus to be scourged before he delivered him 
to the soldiers to be put to death. 

The soldiers, having scourged Jesus and received 
orders to crucify him, carried him into the pretorium, 
or common hall, where they added the shame of disgrace 
to the bitterness of his punishment ; for, sore as he was 
by reason of the stripes they had given him, they 
dressed him in a purple robe in derision of his being 
King of the Jews. Having dressed him in this robe of 
mock majesty, they put a reed in his hand instead of a 
sceptre, and, after plaiting a wreath of thorns, they put 
it on his head for a crown, forcing it down in so rude a 
mannner that his temples were torn and his face 
disfigured with his most precious blood. To the Son 
of God in this condition the rude soldiers bowed the 
knee, pretending to do it out of respect, but at the same 
time gave him severe blows on the head, which drove 
the points of the wreath afresh into his temples, and 
then spit on him, to express their highest contempt. 

The governor's ofiice obliged him to be present at 
this shocking scene of inhumanity. The sight of an 
innocent and eminently holy person treated with such 
shocking barbarity raised in his breast the most painful 
sensations of pity. And though he had given sentence 
that it should be as the Jews desired, and had delivered 
our dear Redeemer to the soldiers to be crucified, he 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



was in hopes that if he showed him to the people in 
that condition they must relent, and earnestly petition 
for him to be released. Filled with this thought, he 
resolved to carry him out, and exhibit to then' view a 
spectacle capable of softening the most envenomed, 
obdurate, and enraged enemy ; and went out himself 
and said unto them, Though I have sentenced this man 
to die, and have scourged him as one that is to be cruci- 
fied, yet I once more bring him before you, that I may 
again testify how fully I am persuaded of his innocence, 
and that ye may yet have an opportunity of saving his 
life. 

As soon as the governor had finished his speech, 
Jesus appeared on the pavement, his hair, his face, his 
shoulders all clotted with blood, and the purple robe 
daubed with the spittle of the soldiers. And, that the 
sight of Jesus in this distress might make the greater 
impression on the people, Pilate, while coming forward, 
cried out, " Behold the man !" As if he had said, Will 
nothing make you relent ? Have ye lost all the feelings 
of humanity, and bowels of compassion ? Can you bear 
to see the innocent, a son of Abraham, thus injured? 
But all this was to no purpose : the priests, whose rage 
and malice had extinguished not only the sentiments 
of justice and feelings of pity natural to the human 
heart, but also that love which countrymen bear for 
each other, no sooner saw Jesus than they began to fear 
the fickle populace might relent, and therefore, laying 
decency aside, they led the way to the multitude, crying 
out, with all their might, Crucify him ! crucify him ! 

Pilate, vexed to see the J ewish rulers thus obstinately 
bent on the destruction of one from whom they had 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



421 



nothing to fear that was dangerous either with regard 
to their church or state, passionately told them that if 
they would have him crucified they must do it them- 
selves ) because he would not suffer his people to murder 
a man who was guilty of no crime. But this they also 
refused, thinking it dishonorable to receive permission 
to punish a person who had been more than once pub- 
licly declared innocent by his judge. Besides, they con- 
sidered with themselves that the governor might after- 
ward have called it sedition, as the permission had 
been extorted from him. Accordingly, they told him 
that, even though none of the things alleged against 
the prisoner were true, he had committed such a crime 
in presence of the Council itself as by the law deserved 
the most ignominious death. He had spoken blasphemy, 
calling himself the Son of God — a title which no mortal 
could assume without the highest degree of guilt : " We 
have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he 
made himself the Son of God." 

When Pilate heard that Jesus called himself the Son 
of God, his fear was increased. Knowing the obstinacy 
of the Jews in all matters of religion, he was afraid they 
would make a tumult in earnest ; or perhaps he was 
himself more afraid than ever to take away his life, 
because he suspected it might be true. He doubtless 
remembered the miracles said to have been performed 
by Jesus, and therefore suspected that he really was the 
Son of God. For it was well known that the religion 
which the governor professed directed him to acknowl- 
edge the existence of demigods and heroes, or men de- 
scended from gods. Nay, the heathen believed that 
their gods themselves appeared upon earth in the forms 



422 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



of men. Reflections of this kind induced Pilate to go 
again to the judgment-hall, and ask Jesus from what 
father he sprung, and from what country he came. 
But our blessed Saviour gave him no answer, lest the 
governor should reverse his sentence and absolutely 
refuse to crucify him. Pilate marvelled greatly at 
his silence, and said unto Jesus, Why dost thou re- 
fuse to answer me ? You cannot be ignorant that 
I am invested with absolute power either to release 
or crucify you. To which J esus answered, I well know 
that you are Caesar's servant, and accountable to him 
for your conduct. I forgive you any injury which, con- 
trary to your inclination, the popular fury constrains 
you to do unto me. Thou hast thy power " from 
above," from the emperor ; for which cause, the Jewish 
high-priest, who hath put me into thy hands, and, by 
pretending that I am Caesar's enemy, forces thee to 
condemn me ; or, if thou refusest, will accuse thee as 
negligent of the emperor's interest; he is more guilty 
than thou. " He that delivered me unto thee hath the 
greater sin." 

This sweet and modest answer made such an im23res- 
sion on Pilate, that he went out to the people, and de- 
clared his intention of releasing Jesus whether they 
gave their consent or not ; upon which the chief priests 
and rulers of Israel cried out, If thou let this man go, 
thou art not Caesar's friend : whosoever maketh himself 
a king speaketh against C^esar."^^' If thou releasest the 
prisoner, who hath set himself up for a king, and has 
been accused of endeavoring to raise a rebellion in the 
country, thou art unfaithful to the interests of the em- 



^ See note on page 411. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



423 



peror thy master. This argument was weighty,* and 
shook Pilate's resolution to the very basis.f He^was 
terrified at the thought of being accused to the emperor, 
who in all affairs of government always suspected the 
worst, and punished the most minute crimes relative 
thereto with death. The governor, being thus con- 
strained to yield, contrary to his inclination, was very 
angry with the priests for stirring up the people to such 
a pitch of madness, and determined to affront them. 

He therefore brought Jesus out a second time on to the 
pavement, wearing the purple robe and crown of thorns, 
and, pointing to him, said, " Behold your king !" ridicul- 
ing their national expectation of a Messiah. This 
sarcastic expression stung them to the quick, and they 
cried out, ^^Away with him ! crucify him !" To wdiich 
Pilate answered, with the mocking air, Shall I crucify 



* The weight of this argument was not real, but relative only to the 
character of Pilate. Had Pilate (who was thoroughly satisfied of the 
innocence of J esus) been a man of consistent virtue, he could have easily 
faced his accusers on this charge before the emperor. But the con- 
sciousness of many criminal acts in his administration made him fear a 
general investigation before Tiberias, and to avoid it he preferred to sac- 
rifice the Son of God. That a man of his character should have shown 
so much conscientiousness as he did, in declaring the entire innocence of 
our Lord, is indeed wonderful, and marks the overruling hand of Provi- 
dence. 

t " What a moment was that to the hapless pagan ! One expression 
of an honest and bold determination to take a responsibility on himself 
from which no Eoman magistrate ought ever to have shrunk, one righ- 
teous resolve to follow the dictates of his own conscience, and the name 
of Pilate would never have held its melancholy place in the Christian's 
creed as that of the irresolute and unjust judge, who, against his own 
most solemn convictions, gave up to a death of agony and shame one 
whom he knew to be innocent, and even dimly felt to be divine. But 
that word was never spoken." — Ellicott. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



your king ?'^' The chief priests answered, We have no 
King but Cgesar." Thus did they publicly renounce 
their hope of the Messiah, which the whole economy 
of their religion had been calculated to cherish ; they 
also publicly acknowledged their subjection to the 
Romans, and consequently, condemned themselves when 
they afterward rebelled against the emperor. 



CHAPTEE XXXYI. 

i'HE INNOCENT, IMMACULATE REDEEMER IS LED FORTH TO 
MOUNT CALVARY AND THERE IGNOMINIOUSLY CRUCIFIED 
BETWEEN TWO MALEFACTORS — A PHENOMENON APPEARS 
ON THE IMPORTANT OCCASION — OUR LORD ADDRESSES HIS 
FRIENDS FROM THE CROSS, AND GIVES UP THE GHOST. 

The solemn and awful period now approached when 
the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, was to un- 
dergo the oppressive burden of our sins upon the tree, 

^The name of Pontius Pilate is inseparably bound up with the cruci- 
tixion of Christ in the history of the world. Speaking of Christians, the 
Eoman historian Tacitus says, " The author of this name was Christ, who 
M'as capitally punished, in the reign of Tiberius, by Pontius Pilate." 
There can be no doubt that an official report of the whole affair was 
transmitted by Pilate himself to the emperor, though, like other records 
if the age, it has long since perished. 

This weak and self-condemned judge prolonged his power but three 
years by this fearful sacrifice of conscience. Accused, A. D. 36, by the 
Samaritans, for other crimes, he was sent to Rome by Yitellius, governor 
of Syria, and thence banished to Yienne in Gaul, where he is said to have 
committed suicide. What a meeting between him and Christ must that 
be in the next world ! 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



425 



and submit unto death, even the death of the cross, that 
we might live at the right hand of God forever and 
ever. 

Sentence being pronounced upon the blessed Jesus, 
the soldiers were ordered to prepare for his execution — 
a command which they readily obeyed, and, after cloth 
ing him in his own garments, led him away to crucify 
him. It is not said that they took the crown of thorns 
from his temples : probably he died wearing it, that the 
title placed over his head might be the better under- 
stood. 

It is not to be expected that the ministers of Jewish 
malice remitted any of the circumstances of afHiction, 
which were ever laid on persons condemned to be cruci- 
fied. Accordingly, Jesus was obliged to walk on foot 
to the place of execution, bearing his cross. But the 
fatigue of the preceding night, spent without sleep, the 
sufferings he had undergone in the garden, his having 
been hurried from place to place, and obliged to stand 
the whole time of his trials ; the want of food, and the 
loss of blood he had sustained, and not his want of 
courage on this occasion, made him faint under the 
burden of his cross. The soldiers seeing him unable to 
bear the weight, laid it on one Simon, a native of Cyrene, 
in Egypt, the father of Alexander and Rufus, well 
known among the first Christians, and forced him to 
bear it after the Redeemer of mankind. The soldiers 
did not, however, do this out of compassion to the suf- 
ferings of Jesus, but to prevent his dying with the 
fatigue, and by that means eluding his punishment. 

The blessed Jesus, in his journey to Calvary, wa^? 
followed by an innumerable multitude of people, par- 



426 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



ticularlj of ^Tomen, who lamented bitterly the severity 
of his sentence, and showed all the tokens of sincere 
compassion and grief. Jesus, who always felt the woes 
of others more than he did his own. forgetting his distress 
at the very time when it lay heaviest upon him, turned 
himself about, and with a benevolence and tenderness 
truly divine, said to them : "Daughters of Jerusalem, 
weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your 
children. For behold, the days are coming in which they 
shall say. Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that 
never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.* Then 
shall they begin to say to the mountains. Fall on us ; 
and to the hills. Cover us. For if they do these things 
in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry ?"-|- Luke 
xxiii. 28, etc. 

Being arrived at the place of execution, which was 
called Golgotha, or the Place of Skulls, from the crimi- 
nals' bones which lay scattered there, some of our Re- 
deemer's friends offered him a stupefying potion, to 
render him insensible to the ignominy and excruciating 
pain of his punishment. But as soon as he tasted the 
potion he refused to drink it, being determined to bear 

* How would these touching words be recalled to mind at the siege of 
Jerusalem ! Mothers, shut up within the doomed city, saw their sons 
slain by thousands, heaped one upon another often in the bloody streets, 
and as the famine grew severe, as Josephus remarks, even envied the dead 
who had perished by the sword ! Nay, more, mothers, in the madness of 
hunger, killed and devoured their own babes at the breast, to prolong 
their own miserable lives I And when the city was at last taken by Titus 
and reduced to ashes, those miserable surviving mothers saw their sur- 
viving sons sold into hopeless slavery if under the age of seventeen, or if 
above that age, nailed by thousands to the cross ! 

t That is to say, if the innocent thus suffer, what punishment must 
await the guilty, under the righteous government of God? 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



427 



his sufferings, however sharp, not by intoxicating and 
stupefying himself, but by the strength of patience, for- 
titude, and faith. Jesus having refused the potion, the 
soldiers began to execute their orders, by strip j)ing him 
quite naked, and in that condition began to fasten him 
to the cross. But while they were piercing his hands 
and his feet with nails, instead of crying out through 
the sharpness of the pain, he calmly, though fervently, 
prayed for them, and for all those who had any hand in 
his death ; beseeching his heavenly Father to forgive 
them, and excusing them himself by the only circum- 
stance that could alleviate their guilt — their ignorance. 

Father," said the compassionate Redeemer of mankind, 

forgive them \ for they know not what they do." This 
was infinite meekness and goodness, truly worthy of 
the only-begotten Son of God ; an example of forgive- 
ness which, though it can never be equalled by any, 
should- be imitated by all. 

But, behold, the appointed soldiers dig the hole in 
which the cross is to be erected ! the cross is placed in 
the ground ; the blessed Jesus lies on the bed of sorrows; 
they nail him to it — his nerves break — his blood distills 
— he hangs upon his wounds naked, a spectacle to 
heaven and earth ! Thus was the only begotten Son 
of God, who came down from heaven to save the world, 
crucified by his own creatures, and, to render the igno- 
miny still greater, placed between two thieves ! Hear, 
0 heavens ! 0 earth, earth, earth, hear ! The Lord 
hath nourished and brought up children, and they have 
rebelled against him." 

It was usual for the crimes committed by malefactors 
to be written on a white board, with black, and placed 



428 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



over their heads on the cross. In conformity to this 
custom, Pilate wrote a title in the Hebrew, Greek, 
and Latin languages, that all foreigners, as well as 
natives, might be able to read it, and fastened it to the 
cross, over the head of Jesus ; and the inscription was, 
" This is the King of the Jews." But when the chief 
priests and elders had read this title they were greatly 
displeased, because, as it represented the crime for which 
Jesus was condemned, it insinuated that he had been 
acknowledged for the Messiah. Besides, being placed 
over the head of one who was dying by the most infa- 
mous punishment, it im.plied that all who attempted to 
deliver the Jews should perish in the same manner. 
The faith and hope of the nation, therefore, being thus 
publicly ridiculed, it is no wonder that the priests 
thought themselves highly affronted, and accordingly 
came to Pilate, beofo;ino: that the writins; miofht be altered. 
But, as he had intended the affront in revenge for their 
forcing him to crucify Jesus contrary both to his judg- 
ment and inclination, he refused to grant their request : 

What I have written," said he, I have written." 

When the soldiers had nailed the blessed Jesus to the 
cross and erected it, they divided his garments among 
them. But his coat, or vesture, being without seam, 
woven from the top throughout, they agreed not to rend 
it, but to cast lots for it ; by which the prediction of the 
prophet concerning the death and sufferings of the 
Messiah was fulfilled • ^- They parted my garments 
among them, and for my vesture did they cast lots." A 
sufficient indication that every circumstance of the death 
and passion of the blessed Jesus was perfectly known 
long before in the court of heaven ; and, accordingly, 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 429 

his being crucijfied between two malefactors was expressly 
foretold : "And he was numbered with the transgressors." 

The common people of the baser sort, whom the vile 
priests had incensed against the blessed Jesus by the 
malicious falsehoods they had spread concerning him^ 
and which they pretended to found on the deposition of 
witnesses — the common people, I say, seeing him hang 
in so infamous a manner upon the cross, and reading 
the inscription placed over his head, expressed their 
indignation at him by sarcastical expressions : "Ah ! 
thou," said they, " that destroy est the temple, and build- 
est it in three days, save thyself, and come down from 
the cross !" 

But the common people were not the only persons 
who mocked and derided the blessed Jesus while he 
was suffering to obtain the remission of sins for all 
mankind. The rulers, who now imagined they had 
effectually destroyed his pretensions to the character of 
the Messiah, joined the populace in ridiculing him, and, 
with a meanness of soul which many infamous wretches 
would have scorned, mocked him even while he was 
struggling with the agonies of death. They scoffed at 
the miracles by which he demonstrated himself to be 
the Messiah, and promised to believe on him on con- 
dition of his proving his pretensions by descending from 
the cross : " He saved others," said they ; " himself he 
cannot save : if he be the King of Israel, let him now 
come down from the cross, and we will believe on him." 
In the meantime, nothing could be more false and 
hypocritical than this pretension of the stiff-necked 
Jews; for they afterward continued in their unbelief, 
notwithstanding they well knew that he raised himself 



4 



430 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

from tlie dead — a much greater miracle than his coming 
down from the cross would have been — a miracle 
attested by witnesses whose veracity they could not 
call in question. It was told them by the soldiers whom 
they themselves placed at the sepulchre to watch the 
body, and whom they were obliged to bribe largely to 
conceal the truth. It is therefore abundantly evident 
that, if the blessed Jesus had descended from the cross, 
the Jewish priests would have continued in their infi- 
delity, and, consequently, that their declaration was 
made with no other intention than to insult the 
Kedeemer of mankind, thinking it impossible for him 
now to escape out of their hands. 

The soldiers also joined in this general scene of 
mockery : ''If thou be the King of the Jews," said 
they, ''save thyself." If thou art the great Messiah 
expected by the J ews, descend from the cross by miracle, 
and deliver thyself from these excruciating torments. 

Nor did even one of the thieves forbear mocking the 
great Lord of heaven and earth, though laboring him- 
self under the most racking pains and struggling with 
the agonies of death. But the other exercised a most 
extraordinary faith, even at the time when our great 
Kedeemer was in the highest affliction, mocked by men, 
and hanged on the cross, as the most ignominious of 
malefactors. This Jewish criminal seems to have enter- 
tained a more rational and exalted notion of the Mes- 
siah's kingdom than even the disciples themselves. 
They expected nothing but a secular empire :* he gave 

* This language does not seem exactly just to the disciples of Jesus 
For if so, wherein was their faith in Jesus worthy of the commendation it 
had always received from their divine Master as genuine, though weak 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



431 



strong intimations of his having an idea of Christ's 
spiritual dominion ; for at the very time when J esus 
was dying on the cross he begged to be remembered by 
him when he came into his kingdom : Lord," said he, 

remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." 
Nor did he make this request in vain : the great Ee- 
deemer of mankind answered him, Yerily, I say unto 
thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise." 

But let us attentively consider the history of our 
blessed Saviour's passion, as it offers to our view events 
absolutely astonishing. For when we remember the 
perfect innocence of our great Redeemer, the uncommon 
love he bore to the children of men, and the many kind 
and benevolent offices he did for the sons and daughters 
of affliction — when we reflect on the esteem in which 
he was held all along by the common people, how cheer- 
fully they followed him to the remotest corners of the 
country, nay, even into the desolate retreats of the 
wilderness, and with what pleasure they listened to his 
discourses — when we consider these particulars, I say, 
we cannot help being astonished to find them at the 
conclusion rushing all of a sudden into the opposite 

and clouded with many of the popular prejudices of the times ? Matt. xiii. 
11, 16, 17 ; Luke xxii. 28 ; John vi 68, 69 ; xiv. 17. 

A careful consideration of all the evidence leads to the conclusion that 
the disciples up to this time were combining with a true, divine, and 
spiritual faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour from sin, the common 
notion that he was also to clothe himself with secular power and dominion. 
Jn a word, that his kingdom was to be both spiritual and secular *at the 
same time. Under his dominion, universally and immediately established 
by miraculous agency, none but just and holy men were to be honored, 
and the wicked were to be universally put down and punished. This 
twofold view alone accounts for all the facts, and explains the apparent 
contradi:tions in their character. 



432 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



extreme, and all, as it were, combined to treat him with 
the most barbarous cruelty. 

When Pilate asked the people if they desired to have 
Jesus released, his disciples, though they were very 
numerous, and might have made a great appearance in his 
behalf, remained absolutely silent, as if they had been 
speechless or infatuated. The Roman soldiers, notwith- 
standing their general had declared him innocent, 
uisulted him in the most inhuman manner. The Scribes 
and Pharisees ridiculed him. The common people, who 
had received him with hosannas a few days before, 
mocked him as they passed by, and railed at him as a 
deceiver. Nay, the very thief on the cross reviled 
him. This sudden revolution in the humor of the 
whole nation may seem unaccountable. But, if we could 
assign a proper reason for the silence of the disciples, 
the principles which influenced the rest might be discov- 
ered in their several speeches. The followers of the 
blessed Jesus had attached themselves to him in expec- 
tation of being raised to great wealth and power in his 
kingdom,* which they expected would have been estab- 
lished long before this time ; but, seeing no appearance 
at all of what they had so long hoped for, they permit- 
ted him to be condemned, perhaps because they thought 
it would have obliged him to break the Roman yoke by 
a miracle. 

With respect to the soldiers, they were angry that 
any. one should pretend to royalty in Judea, where 
Caesar had established his authority. Hence they in- 
sulted our blessed Saviour with the title of king, and 
paid him, in mockery, the honors of a sovereign. As 



* See the preceding note. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



433 



for the common people, they seem to have lost their 
opinion of him, probably because he had neither con- 
vinced the Council, nor rescued himself when they con- 
demned him. They began, therefore, to consider the 
assertion of his destroying the temple, and building it 
in three days, as a kind of blasphemy, because it re- 
quired a divine power to execute such an undertaking. 

The priests and scribes were filled with the most im- 
placable and diabolical malice against him, because he 
had torn oif their mask of hypocrisy apd showed them 
to the people in their true colors. It is therefore no 
wonder that they ridiculed his miracles, from whence 
he derived his reputation. In short, the thief also 
fancied that he might have delivered both himself and 
them if he had been the Messiah ; but, as no such deliv- 
erance appeared, he upbraided him for making preten- 
sions to that high character. 

But now, my soul, take one view of thy dying 
Saviour breathing out his spirit upon the cross ! 
Behold his unspotted flesh lacerated with stripes, by 
which thou art healed ! See his hands extended and 
nailed to the cross — those beneficent hands which were 
incessantly stretched out to unloose thy heavy burdens 
and to impart blessings of every kind ! Behold his feet 
riveted to the accursed tree with nails — those feet which 
always went about doing good, and travelled far and 
near to spread the glad tidings of everlasting salvation ! 
View his tender temples encircled with a wreath of 
thorns, which shoot their keen afllicting points into his 
blessed head — that head which was ever meditating 
peace to poor, lost, and undone sinners, and spent many 
a wakeful night in ardent prayer for their happiness ! 

28 



■134 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



See him laboring in the agonies of death, breathing out 
his soul into the hands of his Almighty Father, and 
praying for his cruel enemies ! Was ever love like 
this ? was ever benevolence so gloriously displayed ? 

But see! the sun, that glorious luminary of heaven, 
as it were, hides his face from this detestable action of 
mortals, and is wrapped in the pitchy mantle of chaotic 
darkness ! This preternatural eclipse of the sun continued 
for three hours, to the great terror and astonishment of 
the people present at the crucifixion of our dear Ke- 
deemer. And surely nothing could be more proper than 
this extraordinary alteration in the face of nature, while 
the Sun of righteousness was withdrawing his beams, 
not only from the promised land, but from the whole 
world ; for it was at once a miraculous testimony given 
by the Almighty himself to the innocence of his Son, and 
a proper emblem of the departure of him who was the 
light of the world, at least, till his luminous rays, like 
beams of the morning, shone out anew with additional 
splendor in the ministry of his apostles. 

Nor was the darkness which now covered Judea and 
the neighboring countries, beginning about noon and 
continuing till Jesus expired, the effect of an ordinary 
eclipse of the sun. It is well known that this phenome- 
non can only happen at the change of the moon; 
whereas the Jewish passover, at which our great Ke- 
deemer suffered, was always celebrated at the full. 
Besides, the total darkness of an eclipse of the sun 
never exceeds twelve or fifteen minutes ; whereas this 
continued full three hours. Nothing, therefore, but the 
immediate hand of the Almighty Being, which placed 
the sun in the centre of the planetary system, could 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



435 



have produced this extraordinary darkness : nothing 
but Omnipotence, who first lighted this glorious lumi- 
nary of heaven, would have deprived it of its cheering 
rays. Now, ye scoffers of Jesus, whose blood ye have 
so earnestly desired, and wished it might fall upon you 
and your children, behold, all nature is dressed in the 
sable vail of sorrow, and, in a language that cannot be 
mistaken, mourns the departure of its Lord and Master, 
weeps for your crimes, and deprecates the vengeance of 
heaven upon your guilty heads ! Happy for you that 
this suffering Jesus is compassion itself, and even in the 
agonies of death prays to his heavenly Father to avert 
from you the stroke of his justice. 

This preternatural eclipse of the sun was considered as 
a miracle by the heathens themselves ; and one of them 
cried out, " Either the world is at an end, or the God 
of nature suffers."* And well might he use the expres- 
sion ; for never since this planetary system was called 
from its primitive chaos was known such a deprivation 
of light in the glorious luminary of day. Indeed, when 

* Suidas, author of a valuable Greek Lexicon (about A. D. 1020), cites 
Dionysius the Areopagite, then at Hieropolis, in Egypt, as expressing 
himself to his friend, Apollophanes, upon this extraordinary darkness 
of three hours' duration : " Either the Author of nature suffers, or is sym- 
pathizing with some one who does" — the words probably referred to 
above. The words, if authentic, are remarkable. 

Neander tells us that this darkness is mentioned by two heathen 
annalists, Thallus and Phlegon. The former, quoted by Julius Africanus, 
a learned Christian historian of the third century (A. D. 220), refers it to 
an eclipse of the sun ; but this, as Julius observes, is impossible at the fall 
of the moon. The latter, as quoted by Eusebius in his Glironicle, says 
that in the fourth year of the 202d Olympiad (supposed to be the year 
of Christ's death) there was a total eclipse of the sun, so that " the stars 
were plainly visible at noonday." Phlegon lived under Trajan and 
Hadrian. 



436 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tlie Almighty punished Pharoah for refusing to let the 
children of Israel depart out of his land, and the sable 
vail of darkness was for three days drawn over Egypt, 
the darkness was confined to a part of that kingdom ; 
whereas this that happened at our Saviour's crucifixion 
was universal.* 

When the darkness began, the disciples naturally 
considered it as a prelude to the deliverance of their 
Master. For, though the chief priests, elders, and people 
had sarcastically desired him to descend from the 
accursed tree, his friends could not but be persuaded 
that he who had delivered so many from incurable dis- 

* Mark agrees with Matthew in saying " there was darkness over the 
whole land." We are not warranted by the New Testament in extending 
it beyond Palestine, though it might have spread beyond into Syria and 
Egypt. See the preceding note. 

In the course of nature, darkness sometimes precedes a violent earth- 
quake, as in this instance; but the duration of this darkness and the pecu- 
liar time and effects of this earthquake mark it not merely as providential, 
but as miraculous. As the birth of Jesus was honored by the appearance 
of a new star of light, it is but fitting that his death should be signalized 
by a supernatural darkness, significant of so awful an event. Such grand 
combinations of nature and grace, the physical and the spiritual world, are 
striking proofs of the moral government of the universe by one Supreme 
Intelligence. 

" While they (the Evangelists) thus specially notice this interval, it 
may be observed that they maintain the most solemn reserve as to the 
incidents by which it was marked. . . . The mysteries of those hours 
of darkness, when with the sufferings of the agonized body mingled the 
sufferings of the sacred soul, the struggles with sinking nature, the 
accumulated pressure of the burden of a world's sin, the momently more 
and more embittered foretastings of that which was its wages and its 
penalty, the clinging desperation of the last assaults of Satan and his 
mustered hosts, the withdrawal and darkening of the Paternal presence — • 
mysteries such as these, so deep and so dread, it was not meet that even 
the tongues of apostles should be moved to speak of, or the pens of evan- 
gelists to record." — Ellicott. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



437 



easeSj who had restored limbs to the maimed and eyes 
to the blind, who had given speech to the dumb and 
called the dead from the chambers of the dust, might 
easily save himself, even from the cross. When, there- 
fore, his mother, his mother's sister, Mary Magdalene, 
and the beloved disciple, observed the vail of darkness 
begin to extend over the face of nature, they drew near 
to the foot of the cross, probably in expectation that 
the Son of God was going to shake the frame of the 
universe, unloose himself from the cross, and take 
ample vengeance on his cruel and perfidious enemies. 
The blessed Jesus was now in the midst of his suffer- 
ings ; yet when he saw his mother and her companions, 
their grief greatly affected his tender breast, especially 
the distress of his mother. The agonies of death, under 
which he was now laboring, could not prevent his 
expressing the most affectionate regard both for her and 
for them. For, that she might have some consolation 
to support her under the greatness of her sorrows, he 
told her the disciple whom he loved would, for the sake 
of that love, supply his place to her after he was taken 
from them, even the place of a son ; and therefore he 
desired her to consider him as such, and expect from 
him all the duties of a child. " Woman," said he, 
^'behold thy son." 

But now the moment when he should resign his soul 
into the hands of his heavenly Father approached, and 
he repeated, part, at least, of the twenty-second Psalm, 
uttering, with a loud voice, these remarkable words : 

Eloi, eloi, lama sabacthani T that is, My God, my 
God, why hast -thou forsaken me ?" 

Some believe that our blessed Saviour repeated the 



438 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



whole Psalm — it having been the custom of the Jews. 
in making quotations, to mention only the first words 
of the Psalm or section which they cited. If so, as this 
Psalm contains the most remarkable particulars of our 
dear Eedeemer's passion, being, as it were, a summary 
of the prophecies relating to that subject, by repeating 
it on the cross the blessed Jesus signified that he w^as 
now accomplishing the things that were predicted con- 
cerning the Messiah. And as this Psalm is composed 
in the form of a prayer, by pronouncing it at this time 
he also claimed of his Father the performance of all 
the promises he had made, whether to him or to his 
people. 

Some of the people who stood by, when they heard 
our blessed Saviour pronounce the first words of the 
Psalm, misunderstood him, probably from their not 
hearing him distinctly, and concluded that he called for 
Elias. Upon which one of them filled a sponge wdth 
vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink ; 
being desirous to keep him alive as long as possible, to 
see whether Elias would come to take him down from 
the cross. But as soon as Jesus had tasted the vinegar 
he said, '^It is finished;" that is, the work of man's 
redemption is accomplished ; the great work, which the 
only-begotten Son of God came into the w^orld to 
perform, is finished. In speaking these words, he cried 
with an exceeding loud voice, and afterward addressed 
his Almighty Father in words wdiich form the best pat- 
tern of a recommendatory prayer at the hour of death : 

Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." And. 
having uttered these words, "he boAved. his head, and 
yielded up the ghost." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



439 



But behold, at the very instant the blessed Jesus 
resigned his soul into the hands of his heavenly Father, 
the vail of the temple was miraculously rent from the 
top to the bottom, probably in the presence of the priest 
who burnt incense in the holy place, and who, doubtless, 
published the account when he came out ; for our blessed 
Saviour expired at the ninth hour, the very time of 
offering the evening sacrifice. 

Nor was this the only miracle that happened at the 
death of the great Messiah : the earth trembled from 
its very foundation ; the flinty rocks burst asunder, and 
the sepulchres hewn in them were opened ; and many 
bodies of saints deposited there, awaked, after his resur- 
rection, from the sleep of death, left the gloomy 
chambers of the tomb, went into the city of Jerusalem, 
and appeared unto many. 

Nor did the remarkable particulars which attended 
that awful period when Jesus gave up the ghost, affect 
the natives of Judea alone. The Roman centurion who 
was placed near the cross, to prevent disorders of any 
kind, glorified the Almightj^, and cried out, Truly 
this was the Son of God." And others who were with 
them, when they beheld heaven itself bearing witness 
of the truth of our great Redeemer's mission, smote 
their breasts and retired. 

Thus were demonstrated, by many awful tokens, the 
truth, the divinity, and power of our Redeemer's 
mission; even blind and obdurate Jews were struck 
with horror, and fully convinced that the person they 
had cruelly put to death was nothing less than the Son 
and servant of God, the promised Messiah, the Saviour 
of the world. 



440 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXXVIl. 

THE BLESSED JESUS TREATED WITH INDIGNITY AFTER HIS 

CRUCIFIXION A PIOUS PERSON BEGS HIS BODY FROM 

PILATE IN ORDER FOR INTERMENT. 

It was expressly forbidden by the law of Moses that 
the bodies of those who WL.re hanged should remain all 
night on the tree. In conformity to this law, and 
because the Sabbath was at hand, the Jews begged the 
governor that the legs of the three persons crucified 
might be broken, to hasten their death. To this request 
Pilate readily consented, and, accordingly, gave the 
necessary order to the soldiers to put it in execution. 
But, on perceiving that Jesus was already dead, the 
soldiers did not give themselves the trouble of breaking 
his legs, as they had done those of the two malefactors 
that were crucified with him. One of them, however, 
either out of wantonness or cruelty, thrust a spear into 
his side, and out of the wound flowed blood and water.* 

* This flow of blood and water (serum) proves two things : 1. That 
Jesus had been dead but a short time, else the blood in the heart would 
have coagulated. 2. That had a particle of hfe remained in him such a 
wound would have extinguished it. As the conversion of the Koman 
centurion followed the death of Jesus, he cannot be suspected of a design 
to deceive Pilate in his testimony ; and even if he had, the wanton thrust 
of the soldier's spear would have defeated his design and decided the fact. 

The emblematical purpose of this flow of blood and water, as set forth 
by the apostle John, is to indicate the union of the atonement with the 
purifying influence of the Holy Spirit, in the plan of human redemption, 
1 John V. 6. 

"May the water and the blood 
From his wounded side that flowed, 
Be of sin the double cure, 
Save from wrath and make me pure." 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



441 



This wound, therefore, was of the greatest importance 
to mankind, as it abundantly demonstrated the truth 
of our Saviour's death, and consequently prevented all 
objections that the enemies to our holy faith would 
otherwise have raised against it. The evangelist adds 
that the legs of our great Redeemer were not broken, 
but his side was pierced, that two particular prophe- 
cies might be fulfilled : '^A bone of him shall not be 
broken and, They shall look on him whom they 
have pierced." 

Among the disciples of Jesus was one called Joseph 
of Arimathea, a person equally remarkable for his birtn, 
fortune, and office. This man, who was not to be intim- 
idated by the malice of his countrymen, went boldly to 
Pilate and begged the body of his great Master. He 
had, indeed, nothing to fear from the Eoman governor, 
who during the whole course of our Saviour's trial had 
shown the greatest inclination to release him ; but he 
had reason to apprehend that this action might draw 
upon him the malice of the rulers of the Jews, who had 
taken such great pains to get the Messiah crucified. 
However, the great regard he had for the remains of 
his Master made him despise the malice of the Jews ; 
being persuaded that Omnipotence would defend him 
and cover his enemies with shame and confusion. And 
he well knew that, if no friend .procured a grant of the 
body, it would be ignominiously cast out among the 
executed malefactors. 

Pilate was at first surprised at the request of Joseph, 
thinking it highly improbable that he should be dead in 
so short a time. He had, indeed, given orders for the 
soldiers to break the legs of the crucified persons ; but 



442 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



he knew it was common for them to live several hours 
after that operation was performed; for, though the 
pain they felt must have been exquisite to the last 
degree, yet, as the vital parts remained untouched, life 
would continue some time in the miserable body. 

The governor therefore called the centurion, to know 
the truth of what Joseph had told him ; and, being con- 
vinced, from the answer of that officer, that Jesus had 
been dead some time, he readily gave the body to 
Joseph.* 

This worthy counsellor, having obtained his request, 
repaired to Mount Calvary, and being assisted by Nico- 
demus, took the body down from the cross. The latter 
was formerly so cautious in visiting Jesus that he came 
to him by night. But in paying the last duties to his 
Master he used no art to conceal his desisfn : he showed 
a courage far superior to that of any of his disciples, 
not only assisting Joseph in taking down the body of 
Jesus from the cross, but bringing with him a quantity 
of spices necessary in the burial of our Saviour. Accord- 
ingly, they wrapped the body, with the spices, in fine 

* The mention of Joseph of Arimathea as a rich man is made here, 
evidently not with any design to do honor to him or to the cause he 
espoused on that account, but because the fact makes the fulfihnent of a 
remarkable prophec^r of Isaiah, which in our version reads : "And he made 
his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death." Isaiah liii. 9. 
More exactly : "And his grave was appointed with the wicked, but he was 
with the rich man in (or after) his death." — Dr. Loivth and Barnes. 

Now it was the well known custom of the Jews to bury executed crimi- 
nals in ground by themselves, as infamous and imclean, and such certainly 
would have been the burial of Jesus (for " he was numbered among the 
transgressors," Isaiah hii. 12), had not Joseph unexpectedly applied to 
Pilate for permission to bury the body in his own new tomb, and obtained 
itj much to the chagrin of the Jews, his enemies. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



443 



linen, and laid it in a new sepulchre, which Joseph had 
hewn out of a rock for himself. This sepulchre was 
situated in a garden near Mount Calvary ; and, in which 
having carefully deposited the body of the blessed Jesus, 
they fastened the door, by rolling to it a very large 
stone. ''And when Joseph had taken the body, he 
wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own 
new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock ; and he 
rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and 
departed." Matt, xxvii. 59, 60.* 

The women of Galilee, who had watched their Re- 
deemer in his last moments and accompanied his body 
to the sepulchre, observing that the funeral rites were 
performed in a hurry, agreed among themselves, as soon 
as the Sabbath was past, to return to the sepulchre and 
embalm the body of our Saviour, by anointing and 
swathing him in the manner then common among the 
Jews. Accordingly, they retired to the city and pur- 
chased the spices necessary for that purpose, Nicodemus 
having furnished only a portion of them.f 

* If it be true, as Oalmet affirms was the custom of the Jews, to satu- 
rate the hnen, in which the bodies of the dead were wrapped, with the pre 
paration of spicy perfumes, and then to closely swathe the corpse, it must 
have been a matter of time and difficulty, on account of the glue-like cling- 
ing of the linen, to remove it from the body. 

Yet, though Nicodemus had bought (perhaps unknown to the women 
of Galilee) a hundred pounds weight of rich aloes and myrrh, and used it in 
swathing the body of Jesus at its burial, these linen clothes were found not 
only removed but carefully disposed in order when the disciples of Jesus 
first visited the sepulchre. How does this fact agree with the story that 
the disciples had come by night, and hastily stolen away the body, while 
the Koman guard were all sleeping, but liable to awake any moment ? 

t The fact that the women were able, after seeing the end of the burial, 
to reach the city in season to purchase the additional spices required 
before sunset, proves that the body of the Redeemer lay in the tomb a 



4:44 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



During these transactions, the chief priests and Phari- 
sees, remembering that Jesus had more than once pre- 
dicted his own resurrection, came to the governor and 
informed him of it ; begging, at the same time, that a 
guard might be placed at the sepulchre, lest his disci- 
ples should carry away the body and affirm that he was 
risen from the dead. This haj)pened a little before it 
was dark in the evening, called the next day that fol- 
lowed, by the evangelists, because the Jewish day began 
at sunset. 

This request being thought reasonable b}' Pilate, he 
gave them leave to take as man}- soldiers as they pleased 
out of the cohort, which, at the feast, came from the 
castle of Antonia and kept guard of the porticoes of the 
temple. For that they were not Jewish but Eoman 
soldiers whom the priests employed to watch the sepul- 
chre, is evident from their asking them of the governor. 
Besides, when the soldiers returned with the news of 
our Saviour's resurrection, the priests desired them to 

part of Friday, the whole of Saturday, and (according to Jewish reckon- 
ing) a large part of Sunday — ^. e., from sunset of Saturday till near the 
morning dawn of Sunday, or the first day of the week. It may be said 
this is not literally three days and three nights." Matt. xii. 40. Be it so : 
but is it the part of candor or good sense to press a popular expression 
of this sort into a LITERAL interpretation? Even the enemies of Jesus, 
when applying to Pilate after sunset for a Roman guard, did not ask for 
it be^^ond the " third day ;" thus showing how such expressions as " after 
three days were generally understood. Matt, xxvii. 62-66. 

Had the gospel of Matthew been a fabrication we may be sure he 
would have so framed it as to avoid all such apparent discrepancies. But 
a witness who aims to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth, is not anxious to avoid them, for native honesty is always artless. 
If rigorous scientific precision of language is demanded in popular phrases, 
why not be consistent, and say that Jesus never was buried at all " in the 
heart of the earth ?" Happily, there is yet common sense in the world 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



445 



report that his disciples had stolen him away while they 
slept, and, to encourage them to tell the falsehood boldly, 
promised that, if their neglect of duty came to the gov- 
vernor's ears, proper methods should be used to pacify 
him and deliver them from any punishment — a promise 
which there was no need of making to their own 
servants. 

The priests, having thus obtained a guard of Roman 
soldiers, men long accustomed to military duties, and 
therefore the most proper for watching the body, 
set out with them to the sepulchre, and, to prevent 
these guards from combining with the disciples in carry- 
ing on any fraud, placed them at their post, and 
sealed the stone which was rolled to the door of tiie 
sepulchre. 

Thus, what was designed to expose the mission and 
doctrine of Jesus as rank falsehood and vile imposture 
proved, in fact, the strongest confirmation of the truth 
and divinity of the same that could possibly be given, 
and placed what they wanted to refute (which was his 
resurrection from the dead) even beyond a doubt. 



446 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XXXYIII. 

TWO PIOUS WOMEN GO TO VIEW THE SEPULCHRE OF THEIR 

CRUCIFIED LORD AND SAYIOUR AN AWFUL PHENOMENON 

HAPPENS — A MINISTERING SPIRIT DESCENDS — THE RE- 
DEEMER BURSTS THE CHAIN OF DEATH AND RISES FROM 
THE TOMB. 

Very early in the morning, after tlie Sabbath, Mary 
Magdalene, and the other Mary,* came to visit the sep- 
ulchre, in order to embalm our Lord's body ; for the per- 
formance of which they had, in concert with several other 
women from Galilee, brought ointments and spices. But 
before they reached the sepulchre there was a great 
earthquake preceding the most memorable event that 
ever happened among the children of men, the resurrec- 
tion of the Son of God from the dead. For the angel 
of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled 
back the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and sat 
upon it : his countenance was like lightning, and his 
raiment white as snow ; and for fear of him the keepers 
did shake, and became as dead men :" they fled into the 
city, and the Saviour of the world rose from the dead.*}- 

* Mary, the wife of Cleopas and mother of James and J oses. 

t There is in Isaiah xxvi. 19 a remarkable prophecy, in which the 
Messiah is represented as the speaker: "Thy dead men shall live; 
together with my dead body shall they arise," etc. Now the evangelist 
Matthew records a fact, which seems the exact accomplishment of this 
prediction. He mentions it in connection with the earthquake at the 
death of Jesus, but it evidently belongs more to the earthquake at hig 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



447 



The angel, who had till then sat upon the stone, 
quitted his station and entered into the sepulchre. In 
the meantime, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 
were still on their way to the place, together with 
Salome, who joined them on the road. As they pro- 
ceeded on their way, they consulted among themselves 
' with regard to the method of putting their design of 
embalming the body of their Master into execution ; 
particularly with respect to the enormous stone which 
they had seen placed there, with the utmost difficulty, 
two days before. " Who," said they, ^' shall roll away 
the stone from the door of the sepulchre ?" But, in the 
midst of this deliberation about removing this great and 
sole obstacle to their design (for it does not appear they 
knew any thing of the guard), they lifted up their eyes 
and perceived it was already rolled away. 

Alarmed at so extraordinary and unexpected a cir- 
cumstance, Mary Magdalene concluded that the stone 
could not have been rolled away without some design, 
and that those who rolled it away could have no other 
intent than that of removing our Lord's body. Imagin- 
ing, by appearances, that they had really done so, she 
ran immediately to acquaint Peter and John of what she 
had seen, and what she suspected ; leaving Mary and 



resurrection. "And the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the 
saints, which slept, arose, and came out of their graves after his resurrec- 
tion, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many." Matt, xxvii. 
52, 53. 

These appear to have been the first, after Jesus himself, who arose from 
the dead to immortal life. They seem not to have again dwelt among 
mortal men, but after appearing awhile, like their risen Lord, in the cir 
cles of their friends, probably ascended with him to the world of glory to 
gi'ace his triumph over the grave. 



448 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Salome there^ that, if the other women should arrive 
during her absence, they might acquaint them with their 
surprise at finding the stone removed, and of Mary Mag- 
dalene's running to inform the apostles of it. 

In the meantime, the soldiers, who were terrified at 
seeing an awful messenger from on high roll away the 
stone from the door of the sepulchre and open it in 
quality of a servant, fled into the city and informed the 
Jewish rulers of these miraculous appearances. This 
account was highly mortifying to the chief priests, as it 
was a proof of our Saviour's resurrection that could not 
be denied : they therefore resolved to stifle it immedi- 
ately, and, accordingly, bribed the soldiers to conceal the 
real fact, and to publish everywhere that his disciples 
had stolen the body out of the sepulchre. 

While Mary Magdalene was going to inform the dis- 
ciples that the stone was rolled away from the mouth 
of the sepulchre, and the body taken away, Mary and 
Salome continued advancing toward the place, and at 
their arrival found what they expected — the body of 
their beloved Master gone from the sepulchre, where it 
had been deposited by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arima- 
thea — but at the same time beheld, to their great aston- 
ishment, a beautiful young man in shining raiment, very 
glorious to behold, sitting on the right side of the sepul- 
chre. 

Matthew tells us that it was the angel who had rolled 
away the stone and frightened away the guards from 
the sepulchre. It seems he had now laid aside the ter- 
rors in which he was then arrayed, and assumed the 
form and dress of a human being, in order that these 
pious women, who had accompanied our Saviour during 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



449 



tlie greatest part of the time of his public ministry, might 
be as little terrified as possible. 

But, notwithstanding his beauty and benign appear- 
ance, they were greatly affrighted, and on the point of 
turning back, when the heavenly messenger, to banish 
their fears, told them, in a gentle accent, that he knew 
their errand. Fear not," said he, ''for I know that 
ye seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here ; for 
he is risen, as he said ;" and then invited them to come 
down into the sepulchre and view the place where the 
Son of God had lain ; that is, to look on the linen clothes, 
and the napkin that had been about his head, and which 
he had left behind him when he arose from the dead ; 
for to look at the place in any other view would not 
have tended to confirm their faith of his resurrection. 
The women, greatly encouraged by the agreeable news, 
as well as the peculiar accent with which this blessed 
messenger from the heavenly Canaan delivered his speech, 
went down into the sepulchre, when, behold, another 
of the angelic choir appeared.'^ They did not, however. 

* Our author has here blended persons and incidents which belong- 
apart. He does not seem to notice that there were two distinct companies 
of women who, independently of each other, prepared spices and visited 
the sepulchre. The first company was composed of Mary Magdalene, 
Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Salome, the wife of Zebedee. The second 
company was led by Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward. Mary 
Magdalene left her two companions when she ran back to appvize the 
disciples of the opening of the tomb ; and they entered it at the invitation 
of the angel, and by him were sent away quickly to announce the resur- 
rection of the Lord. But their fears overcame them so on the way that, 
they hesitated, " and told no man any thing" until long afterward. Mean 
time Peter and John came in haste and examined the tomb, saw tln» 
shroud and the napkin but nothing more, and departed. Mary Magdalene 
alone remains, and to her Jesus first appears. 

Jesus, having sent her to his brethren with his message of love, appears 
29 



450 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



yet seem to give sufficient credit to what was told them 
by the angel ; and therefore the other gently reproved 
them for seeking the living among the dead, with an 
intention to do him an office due only to the latter, and 
for not remembering the words which their great Master 
himself had told them with regard to his own resurrec- 
tion : " Why seek ye the living among the dead ? He 
is not here, but is risen : remember how he spake unto 
you when he was yet in Galilee, saying. The Son of 
man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and 
be crucified, and the third day rise again." 

When the women had satisfied their minds by looking 
at the place where the Lord had lain, and where nothing 
was to be found but the linen clothes, the angel who 
first appeared to them resumed the discourse, and bade 
them go and tell his disciples, particularly Peter, the 
glad tidings of his Master's resurrection from the dead ; 
that he was going before them to Galilee ; and that they 
should there have the pleasure of seeing him. 

The reason why the disciples were ordered to go into 



to the two women (Mary Cleopas and Salome), who were still lingering 
through fear ; salutes and soothes them, and even permits them to em- 
brace his feet to assure them of the reality of his resurrection. Then, and 
not till then, " they ran with joy to bring his disciples word." 

During this interval, Joanna, with the second company of women, bear- 
ing ointment and spices for embalming, arrives (probably from a more 
remote part of the city), finds the sepulchre open, and enters it. Twg 
angels appear to this company, instead of one, reprove their unbelief and 
forgetfulness of the words of Jesus in Galilee, and leave them with this 
admonition, to return to the city of their own accord, and give intelligence 
of what they have seen and heard to the assembled disciples. 

Here then are four distinct messages brought by the women; the first 
by Mary Magdalene, the second by her two companions, the third by 
Mary Magdalene after seeing the risen Saviour, and the fourth by Joarna 
and her friends. In Luke xxiv. 10 thev are all mentioned together. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



451 



Galilee, to meet their great and beloved Master, seems 
to be this : they were most of them at Jerusalem, cele- 
brating the passover ; and it may be easily imagined 
that, on receiving the news of their Lord's resurrection, 
many, if not all, would resolve to tarry at Jerusalem, 
in expectation of meeting him there ; a thing that must 
have proved of great detriment to them at that time of 
the year, when the harvest was about to begin, the 
sheaf of first-fruits being always offered on the second 
day of the passover week. In order, therefore, to pre- 
vent their staying so long from home, the message was 
sent directing them to return into Galilee, with full as- 
surance that they should there have the pleasure of 
seeing their Lord and Master, and by that means have 
all their doubts removed, and be fully convinced that 
he had patiently undergone all his sufferings for the sins 
of mankind. The women, highly elated with the news 
of their Lord's resurrection, left the sepulchre immedi- 
ately, and ran to carry the disciples the glad tidings. 

During these transactions at the sepulchre, Peter and 
John, having been informed by Mary Magdalene that 
the stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus not to 
be found, were hastening to the grave, and missed the 
women who had seen the appearance of angels. 

The two disciples, being astonished at what Mary 
Magdalene had told them, and desirous of having their 
doubts cleared up, made all possible haste to the sepul- 
chre ; and John, being younger than Peter, arrived at 
the place first, but did not go in, contenting himself with 
stooping down and seeing the linen clothes lying which 
had been wrapped about the Saviour's body. Peter soon 
arrived, and went into the sepulchre, where he saw the 



452 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



linen clothes, and the napkm that was about his head 
not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together 
in a place by itself. Our Lord left the grave-clothes in 
the sepulchre, probably, to show that his body was not 
stolen away by his disciples, who, in such a case, would 
not have taken time to strip it. Besides, the circum- 
stance of the grave-clothes induced the disciples them- 
selves to believe, when the resurrection was related to 
them. But at that time they had no suspicion that he 
was risen from the dead. 

These two disciples, having thus satisfied themselves 
that what Mary Magdalene had told them was really 
true, departed ; but Mary, who had returned, remained 
weeping at the door of the sepulchre. She had, it 
seems, followed Peter and John to the garden, but did 
not leave it with them, being anxious to find the body. 
Accordingly, stepping down into the place to examine it 
once more, she saw two angels sitting, the one at the 
head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus 
had lain. They were now in the same position as when 
they appeared to the other women, but had renderea 
themselves invisible while Peter and John were at the 
sepulchre. 

Mary, on beholding these heavenly messengers dressed 
in the robes of light was greatly terrified. But they, 
in the most endearing accents, asked her, Woman, 
why weepest thou ? To which she answered. Because 
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where 
they have laid him." On pronouncing these words, she 
turned herself about, and saw J esus standing near her ; 
but the terror she was in, and the garments in which 
he was now dressed, prevented her from knowing him 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



453 



for some time. Jesus repeated the same question used 
before by the angel. " Woman, why weepest thou ?" 
To which Mary, who now supposed him to be the 
gardener, answered, Sir, if his body be troublesome in 
the sepulchre, and thou hast removed him, tell me 
where he is deposited, and I will take him away. But 
our blessed Saviour, willing to remove her anxiety, 
called her by name, with his usual tone of voice ; on 
which she immediately knew him, and, falling down 
before him, would have embraced his knees, according 
to that modesty and reverence with which the women 
of the East saluted the men, especially those who were 
their superiors in station. But Jesus refused this com- 
pliment, telling her that he was not going immediately 
into heaven. He was often to show himself to the dis- 
ciples before he ascended ; so that she would have 
frequent opportunities of testifying her regard to him. 
And, at the same time, he said to her, Go to my 
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend to my Father 
and your Father, and to my God and your God." 

Thus did the blessed Jesus contemplate, with a 
singular pleasure, the work of redemption he had just 
finished. The happy relation between God and man, 
which had been long cancelled by sin, was now renewed. 

The kindness of this message sent by our dear Re- 
deemer to his disciples, will appear above all praise, if 
we remember their late behavior. They had every one 
of them forsaken him in the greatest extremity ; when 
he was scourged and mocked by the Roman soldiers, 
derided by his countrymen, and spitefully treated by 
all, they hid themselves in some place of safety, and 
preferred their own security to the deliverance of their 



454 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Master. When he fainted under the burden of his cross, 
none of them were there to assist him. Simon, a Cyren- 
ian, was compelled by the Eoman soldiers to ease him 
of his ponderous burden. But notwithstanding they 
had refused to assist their Master during his sufferings 
for the sins of the world, he graciously, he freely for- 
gave them ; he assured them of their pardon, and called 
them even by the endearing name of brethren. 

How different was the conduct of the women ! Laying 
aside the weakness and timidity natural to their sex, 
they showed an uncommon magnanimity on this melan- 
choly occasion. For in contradiction to those of the 
Jews, who so vehemently required Jesus to be crucified 
as a deceiver, they proclaimed his innocence by tears, 
cries, and lamentations, w^hen they saw him led forth to 
suffer on Mount Calvary; accompanied him to the 
cross, the most infamous of all punishments; kindly 
waited on him in his expiring moments, giving him all 
the consolation in their power, though at the same time 
the sight of his sufferings pierced them to the heart ; 
and when he expired and his body was carried off, they 
accompanied him to his grave, not despairing, though 
they found he had not delivered himself, but to appear- 
ance was conquered by death, the universal enemy of 
mankind. Perhaps these pious women entertained some 
faint hopes that he would still revive. Or, if they did 
not entertain expectations of that kind, they at least 
cherished a strong degree of love for their Lord, and 
determined to do him all the honor in their power. 

A faith so remarkably strong, a love so ardent, and 
a fortitude so unshaken, could not fail of receiving dis- 
tinguished marks of the divine approbation; and they 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



455 



were accordingly honored with the first news of Christ's 
resurrection, had their eyes cheered with the first sight 
of their beloved Lord after he rose, and preached the 
joyful tidings of his resurrection to the apostles them- 
selves. 

The women, on their arrival, told as many of the 
disciples as they could find, that they had seen at the 
sepulchre the appearance of angels, who assured them 
that Jesus was risen from the dead.'^ This new inform- 
ation astonished the disciples exceedingly ; and, as they 
had before sent Peter and John to examine into the 
truth of what Mary Magdalene had told them concern- 
ing the body being removed out of the sepulchre, so 
they now judged it highly proper to send some of their 
number to see the angels, and learn from them the 
joyful tidings of that great transaction of which the 
women had given them an account. That this was 
really the case appears from what the disciples, in their 
journey to Emmaus, told their great Lord and Master ; 
namely, that when the women came and told them that 
they had seen the angels, certain of their number went 
to the sepulchre, and found it even as the women had 
said, but him they saw not." 

The second deputation from the apostles did not go 
alone ; for, as Mary Magdalene returned to the sepul- 
chre with Peter and John, who were sent to examine 
the truth of her information, so the women who brought 
an account of the appearance of angels, in all probability, 

The women here referred to must bo Joanna and her company, a? 
they had not seen Jesus but only the angel, llence, it appears thai 
Salome and Mary Oleopas did not arrive till some time after them, for the 
reasons assigned in the preceding note, page 449. 



456 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



returned with those who were sent to be witnesses of the 
truth of their report. Besides curiosity, they had an 
errand thither : the angels had expressly ordered them 
to tell the news to Peter in particular ; for which reason, 
when they understood that he was gone to the sepulchre, 
it is natural to think they would return with the disci- 
j)les to seek him. 

About the time that the disciples and women set out 
for the sepulchre, Peter and John reached the city, but, 
passing through a different street, did not meet their 
brethren. The disciples, having a great desire to reach 
the place, soon left the women behind ; and, just as they 
arrived, Mary Magdalene, having seen the Lord, was 
coming away. But they did not meet her, perhaps, 
because they entered the garden at one door, while she 
was coming out at another. When they came to the 
sepulchre, they saw the angels, and received from them 
the news of their blessed Master's resurrection ; for St. 
Luke tells us, They found it even as the w^omen had 
said." Highly elated with what they saw, they departed, 
and ran back to the city with such expedition that they 
gave an account of what they had seen in the hearing 
of the two disciples before Mary Magdalene arrived. 

In the meantime, the first company of women, who 
followed the disciples, happened to meet Peter and John. 
But they had not gone far from the sepulchre before 
Jesus himself met them, and said, " All hail On 
which they approached their great Lord and Master, 
held him by the feet, and worshipped him. The favor 
of embracing his knees J esus had before refused to Mary 
Magdalene, because it was not then necessary ; but he 



* See note on page 449. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



457 



granted it to the women, because, the angels' words hav- 
ing strongly impressed their minds with the notion of 
his resurrection, they might have taken his appearance 
for an illusion of their own imagination, had he not per- 
mitted them to touch him and convince themselves, bv 
the united reports of their senses, that he was their great 
Lord and Master, who was then risen from the dead 
after having suffered on the cross for the sins of man- 
kind.* 

This company of pious women, having tarried some 
time with Jesus on the road, did not arrive with the 
joyful tidings of their great Master's resurrection till 
some time after Peter and John, a,nd perhaps were over- 
taken by Mary Magdalene on the road, unless we sup- 
pose that she arrived a few minutes before them. 

The disciples were now^ lost in astonishment at what 
the women had related : they considered the account 
they had before given them, of their having seen the 
angels, as an improbability, and now they seem to have 
considered this as something worse ; for the evangelist 
tells us that they " believed them not."f 

By referring to the note on page 449 the reader will perceive that this 
company of women is not that of Joanna but that of Salome, consisting 
only of herself and Mary, the wife of Cleopas. 

t The harmony of the four evangelists, in their brief and independent 
accounts of the women of Galilee on this eventful morning, is singularly 
perfect and beautiful, and will be understood and admired in proportion 
as it is carefully studied. All the old difficulties arose from supposing the 
two companies of women to be one and the same. From the time of Gil- 
bert West and Dr. Doddridge, in the first half of the last century, there 
has been a general agreement of critics on this point. 

Modern infidels, who bring forward again the old, obsolete objections 
to this part of the sacred narrative, are entirely behind the age, and only 
betray their ignorance or disingenuousness. After all, the testimony of 



458 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



Peter, indeed, to whom the angel had sent the mes- 
sage, was disposed, by his sanguine temper, to give a 
little more credit to their words than the rest ; possibly 
because the messengers from the heavenly w^orld had 
done him the honor of naming him in particular. 
Elated with the respect thus paid him, he immediately 
repaired again to the sepulchre; hoping, in all proba- 
bility, that his Master would appear to him, or, at least, 
the angel who had so particularly distinguished him from 
the rest of his disciples."^ As soon as Peter arrived at 
the sepulchre, he stooped down, and seeing the linen 
clothes lying in the same manner as before, he viewed 
their position, the form in which they were laid, and 
returned, wondering greatly in himself at what had 
happened. 

the women is not that on which our Christian faith rests. It is true, but 
it did not carry conviction to the apostles themselves. Indeed its chief 
value lies just here, that it proves tha-^the apostles, the proper witnesses, 
were not credulous men, but men who diligently inquired for the truth, 
and even pushed their doubts to an unjustifiable extreme. The evidence 
which satisfied such men, and made them conscientiously devote every 
earthly interest to the service of their risen Kedeemer and the salvation 
of their fellow men, is that on which our Christian faith relies ; " God 
also bearing- them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers 
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will." Heb. 
ii. 4. 

* Our own impression of the feelings of Peter at this time is quite dif- 
ferent from the view here given. We cannot imagine him to have so easily 
recovered from the profound grief into which he was plunged by his re- 
flections on his recent denial of his Lord. It seems to us we have no 
right to regard him as elated by the particular mention of his name in 
the angelic message. His humiliation was such that it inspired anxiety 
as well as hope. He longed to see his Lord chiefly to make full confession 
and be assure il of pardon. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



459 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

JESUS APPEARS, ON DIVERS OCCASIONS, TO DIFFERENT DISCI- 
PLES REPROVES AND CONVINCES THOMAS OF HIS UNBE- 
LIEF SHOWS HIMSELF TO A GREAT NUMBER OF HIS FOL- 
LOWERS IN GALILEE. 

Soon after the women's first return to the disciples 
with the news of their having seen the appearance of 
angels who told them that Jesus had risen from the 
dead, two of the disciples departed on their journey to 
a village called Emmaus, about seven miles distant f^om 
Jerusalem.* The concern they were in on account of 
the death of their great and beloved Master was suffi- 
ciently visible in their countenances ; and, as they pur- 
sued their journey, talking one with another, and deba- 
ting about the things that had lately happened among 
them, concerning the life and doctrine, the sufferings 
and death, of the holy Jesus, and of the report that was 
just spread among his disciples of his being that very 
morning risen from the dead, Jesus himself overtook 
them, and joined company with them. 

As he appeared like a stranger, 'j- they did not in the 

* What drew these two disciples to Emmaiis on a day so full of pro- 
found interest to them as well as others, we cannot tell with certainty, but 
most probably it was the home of one or both. 

t Mark speaks of him as assuming on this occasion " another form." 
This may mean no more than the change made in his appearance by a 
garb which he was not accustomed to wear, and in which he was uut 
easily recognized by the downcast disciples. 



460 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



least suspect that their fellow-traveller was no other 
than the great Kedeemer of the sons of men. He soon 
entered into discourse with them, by inquiring what 
event had so closely engaged them in conversation, and 
why they appeared so sorrowful and dejected, as if they 
had met with some heavy disappointment. One of 
them, whose name was Cleophas, being surprised at the 
question, replied, Is it possible that you can be so great 
a stranger to the affairs of the world as to have been at 
Jerusalem and not have heard the surprising events 
that have happened there — events that have astonished 
the whole city, and are now the constant topic of con- 
versation among all the inhabitants ? 

Jesus asked what surprising events he meant. To 
whjch Cleophas replied. The transactions which have 
happened concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who appeared 
as a great prophet and teacher sent from God, and ac- 
cordingly was highly venerated among the people for 
the excellency of his doctrine, his humility of life, and 
the number, benefit, and greatness of his miracles. 
Our chief priests and elders, therefore, envying him as 
one who lessened their authority over the people, appre- 
hended him, and found means to put him to death. 
But we firmly believed he would have proved himself 
the Messiah, or great Deliverer ; and this persuasion we 
a long time supported ; nor were we willing to abandon 
it even when we saw him put to death. But it is now 
tnree days since these things were done ; and therefore 
we begin to fear we were mistaken. This very morn- 
ing, indeed, a thing happened which extremely surprised 
us, and we were very solicitous with regard to it. Some 
women, who had entertained the same hopes and expec^ 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



461 



tations as we, going early in the morning to pay the last 
duties to their Master, by embalming his body, returned 
with great haste to the city, and informed us that they 
had been at the sepulchre, but w^ere disappointed in not 
finding the body; and, to increase our surprise, they 
added that they had seen the appearance of angels, who 
had told them that Jesus was risen from the dead. 
This relation seemed at first to us not probable, nay, 
altogether incredible ; but two of the company, going 
immediately after to the sepulchre, found every thing 
exactly as the women had reported : they saw the angels, 
but heard not any thing of the body ; so that we are 
still in doubt and perplexity with regard to this wonder- 
ful event. 

In reply, Jesus said. Why are ye so very averse to 
believe all that the prophets have, with one voice, pre- 
dicted of the Messiah ? Is it not clearly and very ex- 
j^ressly foretold, in all the prophetic writings, that it 
was appointed by the council of Omnipotence for the 
Messiah to suffer in this manner, and that, after sustain- 
ing the greatest indignities, reproaches, and contempt, 
from the malice and perverseness of mankind, and even 
undergoing an ignominious and cruel death, he should 
be exalted to a glorious and eternal kingdom ? Having 
said this, he began at the writings of Moses and explained 
to them, in order, all the principal passages, both in the 
books of that great legislator and the writings of the 
other prophets, relating to himself, his own sufferings, 
death, and glorious resurrection. 

And this he did with such surprising plainness, 
clearness, and strength, that the two disciples, not yet 
suspecting who he was, were as much amazed to find a 



462 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



stranger so well acquainted with all that Jesus did and 
suffered as .they at first wondered at his appearing to be 
so totally ignorant of these transactions. They were 
also astonished to hear him interpret and appl}^ the 
Scriptures to their present purpose with such readiness 
and convincing clearness of argument as carried wdth it 
a strange and unusual authority and efficacy. When, 
the.r'efore, they came to the village whither they were 
going, and Jesus seemed as if he would have passed on 
and travelled farther, they, desirous of his company, 
pressed him, in the strongest manner, to tarry yviih 
them that night, as it was then late. To this request 
the great Redeemer of mankind consented ; and when 
they were sat down to supper he took bread, and gave 
thanKs to God, and brake it, and gave it to them in the 
same manner he used to do while he conversed with 
them ttpon earth before his death. This engaged their 
attention, and, locking steadfastly on him, they per- 
ceived it was their great and beloved Master. But they 
had then no b'me to express their joy and astonishment 
to their bene volent Redeemer ; for he immediately van- 
ished out of their sight. 

As soon as they found their Master was departed, they 
said one to another, How slow and stupid were we before, 
not to know him upon the road, while he explained to 
us the Scriptures — when, besides the affability of his 
discourse and the strength and clearness of his argument, 
we perceived such an authority in what he said, and 
such a powerful efficacy attending his words, and even 
striking our hearts with affection, that we could not but 
have known him (if we had not been remarkably stupid) 
to have been the very same that used to accompany his 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



463 



teacMng and was peculiar to it ! This surprising event 
would not permit them to stay any longer in Emmaus. 
They returned that very night to Jerusalem, and found 
the apostles, with several other disciples, discoursing 
about the resurrection of their Master; and, on their 
entering the room, the disciples accosted them, saying. 
The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared unto 
Simon.* 

They had given little credit to the reports of the 
women, supposing they were occasioned more by imagi- 
nation than reality. But, when a person of Peter's 
capacity and gravity declared he had seen the Lord, 
they began to think that he was really risen from the 
dead. And their belief was greatly confirmed by the 
arrival of the two disciples from Emmaus, who declared 
to their brethren how Jesus appeared to them on the 
road, and how they discovered him to be their Master 
by the circumstances before related. While the disci- 
ples from Emmaus were thus describing the manner of 
the appearance of Jesus to them, and offering arguments 
to convince those who doubted the truth of it, their 
great Master himself put an end to the debate, by 
standing in the midst of them, and saying, Peace be 
unto you." 

This sudden appearance of our blessed Saviour greatly 
terrified the disciples, who supposed they had seen a 
spirit ;-|- for, having secured the doors of the house where 

f There were two Simons among the apostles — Shnon Peter and Simon 
of Cana, called the Cananite. The evidence is plain that here, as in most 
cases, it refers to Simon Peter. In 1 Cor. xv. 5, Paul calls him by his 
surname of Cephas. 

t Probably the idea of a spirit (or phantom) entertained by the apos- 
Ues was as vague as it now is in the popular imagination of a ghost, i. e.. 



464 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



tliey were assembled, for fear of the Jews, and Jesus 
having opened the locks, by his miraculous power, with- 
out the knowledge of any in the house, it was natural 
for them to think that a spirit only could enter. The 
circumstance, therefore, of the doors being shut is very 
happily mentioned by St. John ; because it suggests a 
reason why the disciples took their Master for a spirit, 
notwithstanding many of them were convinced that he 
was really risen from the dead and were at that moment 
conversing about his resurrection. But, to dispel their 
fears and doubts, Jesus came forward and spoke to them 
in the most endearing manner, showed them his hands 
and feet, and desired them to handle him, in order to 
convince themselves, by the united powers of their dif- 
ferent senses, that it was he himself, and no spectre or 
apparition. " Why are ye troubled," said the benevo- 
lent Kedeemer of mankind, and why do thoughts arise 
in your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet, that it 
is I myself : handle me and see, for a spirit hath not 
flesh and bones as ye see me have."* These infallible 

a bodiless apparition of a real active being, representing the form of one 
dead. In this last circumstance it differs from an angel. Like every 
thing strange and mysterious to us, it naturally inspires awe and alarm. 

The vision of Eliphaz, in Job iv. 12-17, is strikingly illustrative of this 
conception and of its effects. 

* The apostles had as yet no idea of the powers of the resurrection- 
body, and the sudden appearance in the room, by night, of a figure re- 
sembling that of Jesus, struck them with instinctive terror, and this gave 
place only by slow degrees to the strongest evidence of his bodily identity. 
To behold that very form which a few days before they had seen nailed 
to the cross and pierced by the soldier's spear, and then taken from the 
cross and laid, mangled, motionless, and lifeless, in the sepulchre, now 
alive, vigorous and active as ever, every wound healed, every feature re- 
stored to its former familiar expression, every sense exalted and instinct 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



465 



proofs sufficiently convinced the disciples of the truth of 
their Lord's resurrection ; and they received him with 
rapture and exultation. But their joy and wonder had 
so great an effect upon their minds, that some of them, 
sensible of the great commotion they were in, suspended 
their belief till they had considered the matter more 
calmly. Jesus, therefore, knowing their thoughts, called 
for meat, and ate with them, in order to prove more 
fully the truth of his resurrection from the dead, 
and the reality of his presence with them on this occa- 
sion. 

After giving this further ocular demonstration of his 
having vanquished the power of death and opened the 
tremendous portals of the grave, he again repeated his 
salutation, Peace be unto you ;" adding. The same 
commission that my Father hath given unto me I give 
unto you : go ye, therefore, into every part of the world 
and preach the gospel to all the children of men. 
Then, breathing on them, he said, Eeceive ye the Holy 
Ghost, to direct and assist you in the execution of your 
commission. Whosoever embraces your doctrine, sin- 

with the immortality of a higher world, yet capable of sympathy and 
social intercourse with men in the flesh — all this was too great, too mar- 
vellous to be taken into the human mind in a moment with entire con- 
viction. The change was stupendous. They had seen more than once 
the dead raised to life by the voice of Jesus, but that life was mortal as 
before. This, therefore, was a fact entirely new, without precedent, and 
infinitely astonishing. Only as its reality became clear could it become 
also delightful, elevating, assimilating. Jesus stood before them, gazed on 
them, spoke to them, ate and drank with them, gave them leave to handle 
him, and satisfy themselves that it was he indeed — their unchanging 
Friend, their forgiving Saviour, their condescending Teacher, the Resur- 
rection and the Life, the triumphant Conqueror of Death, the First-Fruits 
of the coming harvest of Glory from the grave I 
30 



466 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



cerely repents, and believes on me, ye shall declare unto 
him the free forgiveness of his sins, and your declaration 
shall be ratified and confirmed in the courts of heaven. 
And whosoever either obstinately rejects your doctrine, 
disobeys it, or behaves himself unworthily after he hath 
embraced it, his sins shall not be forgiven him; but the 
censure ye shall pass upon him on earth shall be con- 
firmed in heaven. 

Thomas, otherwise called Didymus, was absent at the 
meeting of the apostles ; nor did this happen without 
the special direction of Providence, that the particular 
and extraordinary satisfaction which was afterward 
granted him might be an abundant and undeniable tes- 
timony of the truth of our blessed Saviour's resurrection 
to all succeeding generations. The rest of the apostles, 
therefore, told him that they had seen the Lord, and re- 
peated to him the words he had delivered in their hear- 
ing. But Thomas replied, This event is of such great 
importance, that unless, to prevent all possibility of de- 
ception, I see him with mine own eyes and feel him with 
mine own hands, putting my fingers into the print of 
the nails whereby he was fastened to the cross, and 
thrust my hand into his side which the soldiers pierced 
with the spear, I will not believe that he is really and 
truly risen from the dead. 

Thus have we enumerated, in the most explicit man- 
ner, the transactions of that day on which the great 
Eedeemer of mankind arose from the dead; a day 
highly to be remembered by the children of men, 
throughout all generations. A day, in which was fully 
completed and displayed the conceptions lodged in the 
breast of infinite Wisdom ! even those thoughts of love 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



467 



and mercy, on which the salvation of the world 
depended. Christians have therefore the highest reason 
to solemnize this day with gladness, each returning 
week, by ceasing from their labor, and giving up them- 
selves to prayer, pious meditations, and other exercises 
of religion. The redemption of mankind, which they 
weekly commemorate, affords matter for eternal thought; 
it is a subject impossible to be equalled, and whose lustre 
neither length of time, nor frequent reviewing, can 
either tarnish or diminish. 

Eight days after the resurrection of our great Re- 
deemer, the blessed Jesus showed himself again to his 
disciples, while Thomas was with them, and upbraided 
that disciple for his unbelief; but, knowing that it did 
not, like that of the Pharisees, proceed from a wicked 
mind, but from an honest heart, and a sincere desire of 
being satisfied of the truth, he thus addressed himself 
to his doubting disciple: Thomas," said he, since 
thou wilt not be contented to rely on the testimony of 
others, but must be convinced by the experience of 
thine own senses, behold the wounds in my hands, and 
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and 
doubt no longer of the reality of my resurrection." 
Thomas was immediately induced to believe, by the 
invitation of his dear Master, and being fully satisfied, 
he cried out, I am abundantly convinced ; thou art 
indeed my Lord, the very same that was crucified ; and 
I acknowledge thine almighty power in having triumphed 
over death, and worship thee as my God." To which 
the blessed Jesus replied, Because thou hast seen me, 
Thomas, thou hast believed that I am really risen from 
the dead. But blessed are they, who, without such 



468 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



evidence of the senses, shall, upon credible testimony, 
be willing to believe and embrace a doctrine which tends 
so greatly to the glory of God and the salvation of the 
sons of men." 

St. Luke adds (Acts i. 3), that the blessed Jesus 
appeared on several other occasions to his disciples after 
his resurrection, and by many clear and infallible proofs 
(not mentioned by the evangelist), fully convinced them 
that he was alive after his passion. But those which 
are mentioned are abundantly sufficient to excite men 
to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the great 
Messiah so often foretold by the ancient prophets ; and 
by means of that belief they may attain everlasting life 
in the happy regions of the heavenly Canaan. 

Our blessed Saviour having, first by the angels, and 
afterward in person, ordered his disciples to repair to 
their respective habitations in Galilee, it is reasonable 
to think they would leave Jerusalem as soon as possible. 
This they accordingly did, and, on their arrival at their 
respective places of abode, applied themselves to their 
usual occupations; and the apostles returned to their 
old trade of fishing on the lake of Tiberias. Here they 
were toiling with their nets very early in the morning, 
and saw Jesus standing on the shore, but did not then 
know him to be their Master, as it was somewhat dark, 
and they at a considerable distance from him. He, 
however, called to them, and asked if they had taken 
any fish. To which they answered they had caught 
nothing. He then desired them to let down their nets 
on the right side of the boat, and they should not be 
disappointed. The disciples, imagining that he might 
be acquainted with the places proper for fishing, did as 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



469 



he directed thenij and enclosed in their net such a pro- 
digious multitude of fishes that they were not able to 
draw it into the boat, but were forced to drag it after 
them toward the shore. 

It seems they had toiled all the preceding night to 
no purpose; and therefore such remarkable success 
could not fail of causing various conjectures among 
them with regard to the stranger on the shore, who had 
given them such happy advice. Some of the apostles 
declared they could not imagine who he was ; but others 
were persuaded that this person was no other than their 
great and beloved Master. John was fully convinced 
of his being the Eord, and accordingly told his thoughts 
to Simon Peter, who, making no doubt of it, girded on 
his fisher's coat and leaped into the sea, in order to get 
ashore sooner than the boat could be brought to land, 
dragging after it a net full of large fishes. 

When the disciples came ashore, they found a fire 
kindled, and on it a fish broiling, and near it some bread. 
But, neither being sufiicient for the company, Jes^us bade 
them bring some of the fish they had now caught, and 
invited them to eat with him. Thus did the blessed 
Jesus prove again to his disciples the reality of his res- 
urrection ; not only by eating with them, but by work 
ing a miracle like that which, at the beginning of his 
ministry, had made such an impression upon them as 
disposed them to be his constant followers. This was 
the third time that Jesus appeared publicly to a great 
number of his disciples in a body, besides showing him- 
self several times to particular persons upon special 
occasions. 

When they had eaten, Jesus reminded Peter how dili- 



470 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



gent and zealous he ought to be in order to wipe off the 
stain of his denying him when he was carried before the 
high-priest " Simon, son of Jonas/' said our blessed 
Saviour to him, art thou more zealous and affectionate 
in thy love toward me than the rest of my disciples ?" 
To which Peter answered, Yea, Lord, thou knowest 
that I love thee." He was taught modesty and diffi- 
dence by his late fall, and therefore would not compare 
himself with others, but humbly appealed to his Master's 
omniscience for the sincerity of his regard to him. Jesus 
answered, Express then thy love toward me by the 
care of my flock committed to thy charge. ' Feed my 
lambs ; feed my sheep.' Show thy love to me by pub- 
lishing the great salvation I have accomplished, and 
feeding the souls of faithful believers with that food 
which never perishes, but endures forever and ever. 
I well know, indeed," continued the blessed Jesus, 
" that thou wilt continue my faithful shepherd even 
unto death. For the time will come when thou, who 
now girdest on thy fisher's coat voluntarily, and stretch- 
est out thy hand to come to me, shalt in thine old age 
be girt by others, and forced to stretch out thy hands 
against thy will, in a very different m^anner, for the sake 
of thy constant profession of my religion." 

By these last words Jesus signified the manner of 
Peter's death, and that he should finally suffer martyr- 
dom for the glory of God and testimony of the truth of 
the Christian religion.^ 

The time being now come when the disciples were to 
meet their great Lord and Master, according to the mes- 



* See note, page 400. 



t See note, page 523. 



1 
I 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 471 

sages he haa sent them by the women, and, in all prob- 
ability, appointed at some former appearance not men- 
tioned by the evangelists, the brethren set out for the 
mountain in Galilee — perhaps that on which he was 
transfigured.* Here five hundred of them were gathered 
together, expecting the joyful sight of their great Mas- 
ter after he had triumphed over death and the grave, 
some of them not having yet seen him after his resur- 
rection. 

They did not wait long before Jesus appeared, on 
which they were seized with rapture, their hearts over- 
flowed with gladness, they approached their kind, their 
benevolent Master, and worshipped him. Some few, 
indeed, doubted — it being natural for men to be afraid 
to believe what they vehemently wished, lest they 
should indulge themselves in false joys, which vanish 
like a morning cloud. But Jesus afterward appeared 
frequently to them and gave them full satisfaction, and 
instructed them in many things relating to their preach- 
ing the gospel, establishing the church, and spreading it 
through the v/hole earth. 



^ It seems to have been the chief design of Christ, in his third appearing, 
to restore Peter to the public position he had forfeited by his fall, beforf 
delivering the general commission at the appointed meeting in Galilee. 



472 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XL. 

OUR BLESSED LORD INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES IN WHAT MAN- 
NER THEY SHOULD CONDUCT THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO 

PROPAGATE THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL GIVES THEM 

HIS FINAL BLESSING AND ASCENDS INTO HEAVEN GENERAL 

REVIEW OF THE LIFE AND DOCTRINES OF THE GREAT RE- 
DEEMER. 

A FEW" days before the feast of Pentecost, or the feast 
of weeks/' the disciples went up to Jerusalem, where 
the blessed Jesus made his last appearance to them ; 
and, after instructing them in many particulars concern- 
ing the kingdom of God and the manner they were to 
behave themselves in propagating the doctrines of the 
gospel, he put them in mind that, during his abode with 
them in Galilee, he had often told them that all things 
written in the law, the prophets, and the Psalms, con- 
cerning him, were to be exactly accomplished. At the 
same time, ''he opened their understandings" by divine 
illumination, he removed their prejudices by the opera- 
tion of his Spirit, cleared their doubts, improved their 
memories, strengthened their judgments, and enabled 
them to discern the true meaning of the Scriptures. 

Having thus qualified them for receiving the truth, 
he again assured them that both Moses and the prophets 
had foretold that the Messiah was to suffer in the very 
manner he had suffered ; that he was to rise from the 
dead on the third day, as he had done ; and that repent- 



I 




T m. m m ax y li; ' j-^ b m ')^! is (d^ o n 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



473 



ance and remission of sins were to be preached in tlie 
Messiah's name among all nations, beginning with the 
Jews in Jerusalem. 

He next delivered unto them their commission to 
preach the doctrine of repentance and remission of sins, 
in his name, among all nations, and to testify unto the 
world the exact accomplishment in him of all things 
foretold concerning the Messiah, and, to enable them to 
perform this important work, promised to bestow on 
them the gift of the Holy Spirit, which he called the 
promise of his Father — because the Almighty had 
promised it by his prophets.'*"" 

Having thus strengthened them for the important 
work they were going to undertake, he led them out to 
the Mount of Olives, as far as Bethany ; where, stand- 
ing on a hill above the town,f he told them that he was 



* It has been justly remarked, and the remark is worthy of profound 
consideration, that as the promise of Christ was the great promise of the 
Old Testament, so the promise of the Holy Spirit is the great promise 
of the New. 

t From the highest point of the Mount of Olives, the very spot from 
which our Lord in all probability ascended to heaven, there is one of the 
most wide and magnificent prospects in Palestine. On the east, our Lord 
would behold at his feet the village of Bethany, the house of Martha, and 
the tomb from which he had raised Lazarus to life ; beyond, the Mount of 
his Temptation, and far down, the valley of the Jordan, with the blue line 
of the river in which he was baptized distinctly visible. The view was 
lerminated at the south in the deep, dark waters of the Dead Sea ; and on 
the eastern limit of the horizon the crests of the mountains of Moab. On 
the west, objects of nearer and more tender interest naturally riveted his 
eye, in its last look on earth. There, to the south, \vas Bethlehem his 
birthplace, with all its touching associations, and directly before him Jeru- 
salem — the temple, purged and hallowed by his ministry, the palaces of 
the high-priest, of Herod, and of Pilate, where he was so recently tried 
and ci'ucllv condemned ; Calvary, where he was crucified ; the tomb of 



474 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



going to ascend to his Father ; for which reason they 
might go courageously through all the world and preach 
the gospel to every rational creature ; that they who 
believed should be admitted into his church by the rite 
of baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Ghost, and be taught, in consequence of their 
baptism, to obey all the precepts he had enjoined upon 
them ; that such baptized believers should receive the 
pardon of their sins, together with eternal life in the 
happy mansions of his Father's kingdom, but such as 
refused to embrace the doctrines of the gospel should be 
forever excluded from those happy regions, and have 
their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and 
brimstone ; that while they were employed in this work 
he would be constantly with them, to assist them by 
his Spirit and protect them by his providence. Finally, 
that those who should, through their preaching, ]je 
induced to believe, should themselves work most aston- 
ishing miracles, by which the gospel should be propagated 
with the greatest rapidity. Mark xvi. 17, 18.* 

Joseph, where he was buried, and whence he rose, the Vanquisher of 
Death. For the last time he had crossed the valley of the Kedron, and 
left behind him at the foot of Olivet the garden of Gethsemane, the scene 
of his terrible agony, and the dark background of a prospect rising up- 
ward to the height of the eternal Paradise above. 

Can we wonder if, full of tender emotion at the sight of these affecting 
objects, he should turn his eyes once more on the faces of his disciples 
and stretch out his hands and bless them ? 

* Few readers of this passage, perhaps, have failed to ponder, at times, 
the mooted question of the extent and duration of the promise it involves. 
Were all believers to be characterized by these signs following in every 
age ? 

We think not. The terms of the promise are satisfied if the first 
behevers were generally endowed with such gifts, and if these gifts 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



475 



When the blessed Jesus had spoken these things, he 
lifted up his hands and blessed them. And in the action 
of blessing them he was parted from them : in the 
midst of the day a shining cloud received him out of 
their sight; that is, this brilliant cloud encompassed 
him about and carried him up to heaven, not suddenly, 
but at leisure, that they might behold him departing, 
and see the proofs of his ascending into heaven, as he 
had promised them. The cloud in which the blessed 
Jesus ascended was more bright and pure than the 
clearest lambont flame, being, as is supposed, no other 
than the Shechinah, or glory of the Lord — the visible 
symbol of the divine presence which had so often 
appeared to the patriarchs of old, which filled the tem- 

continued to be granted during the apostolic age. Our reasons for this 
conclusion are : 1. We read of no such gifts of miracles except under the 
immediate' ministry of the apostles. Philip, the evangelist, had received 
these gifts at Jerusalem, and exercised them in Samaria, but could not 
confer them, as did Peter on his arrival there. Acts viii. 2. They do 
not appear to have been universally bestowed, even by the hands of the 
apostles themselves. 1 Cor. 12-14. Hence, 3, it would follow that in the 
generation succeeding the death of the last of the apostles they would be 
rare, and gradually cease to be exercised. 4. The facts in the history of the 
early church accord with this view : Christian writers in the latter part 
of the second century appeal to the Tuiracles wrought in their time, 
but do not claim the power for themselves ; and no authentic case of a 
miracle is reported in the third century. 

Nor is this to be ascribed merely to a decay of faith. For, 1. The reason 
for them ceased after the divine origin of Christianity had been suffi- 
ciently proved. 2. Were such evidence now needed, and such inspired 
channels open to convey them, we might expect their continuance or re- 
newal ; but not otherwise. 3. These gifts are represented by Paul not 
only as far inferior in value to the graces of the heart, but as destined to 
vanish away, while faith, hope, and charity remain. 1 Cor xiii. And, 4 
The pretence of miraculous powers is one of the predictel signs of the 
Great Apostacy. 2 Thess. ii, ; Rev. xiii. This fact should put us on our 
guard against imposture. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



pie at its dedication, and which, in its greatest splendor, 
could not be beheld with mortal eyes, for which reason 
it is called the light inaccessible. As he ascended, the 
flaming cloud that surrounded him marked his passage 
through the air, but gradually lost its magnitude in the 
eyes of those who stood below, till it at last vanished, 
together with their beloved Master, out of their sight. 

In this illustrious manner did the great Redeemer of 
mankind depart, after having finished the grand work 
which he left the bosom of his Father to execute; 
which angels with joy described was to happen, and 
which, through all eternity to come, shall, at periods the 
most immensely distant from the time of its execution, 
be looked back upon with inexpressible delight, by 
every inhabitant of heaven ; for though the minute 
affairs of time may vanish altogether and be lost, when 
they are removed far back by the endless progression 
of duration, this object is such that no distance, how- 
ever great, can lessen. 

We shall conclude this chapter with a few observa- 
tions on the general conduct of our blessed Redeemer 
during his abode with men on earth. 

The human character of the blessed Jesus, as it 
results from the account given of him by the evangelists 
(for they have not formally drawn it up), is entirely 
different from that of all other men whatsoever ; for where- 
as they have selfish passions deeply rooted in their 
breasts, and are influenced by them in almost every 
thing they do, Jesus was so entirely free from them that 
the most severe scrutiny cannot furnish one single action 
in the whole course of his life wherein he consulted his 
own interest only. No; he was influenced by very 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



477 



difFerent motives : the present happiness and eternal 
welfare of sinners regulated his conduct; and, while 
others followed their respective occupations, Jesus had 
no other business than that of doing the will of his 
Father, and promoting the happiness of the sons of 
men. Nor did he wait till he was solicited to extend 
his benevolent hand to the distressed : ^'he went about 
doing good," and always accounted it '^more blessed to 
give than to receive resembling God rather than man. 
Benevolence was the very life of his soul : he not only 
did good to objects presented to him for relief, but he 
industriously sought them out, in order to extend his 
compassionate assistance. 

It is common for persons of the most exalted faculties 
to be elated with success and applause, or dejected by 
censure and disappointments ; but the blessed Jesus was 
never elated by the one or depressed by the other. He 
was never more courageous than when he met with the 
greatest opposition and cruel treatment, nor more hum- 
ble than when the sons of men worshipped at his feet. 

He came into the world inspired with the grandest 
purpose that ever was formed — that of saving from eter- 
nal perdition, not a single nation, but the whole world — 
and in the execution of it went through the longest and 
heaviest train of labors that ever was sustained, with a 
constancy and resolution on which no disadvantageous 
Impression could be made by any accident whatever. 
Calumny, threatenings, bad success, with many other 
evils constantly attending him, served only to quicken his 
endeavors in this glorious enterprise, which he unceas- 
ingly pursued, even till he had finished it by his death. 

The generality of mankind are prone to retaliate 



478 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

injuries received, and all seem to take a satisfaction in 
complaining of the cruelties of those who oppress them ; 
whereas the whole of Christ's labors breathed nothino: 
but meekness, patience, and forgiveness, even to his 
bitterest enemies and in the midst of the most excrucia- 
ting torments. The words, " Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do," uttered by him when his 
enemies were nailing him to the cross, fitly express the 
temper which he maintained through the whole course 
of his life, even when assaulted by the heaviest provocar 
tion. He was destined to sufferings here below, in order 
that he might raise his people to honor, glory, and im- 
mortality in the realms of bliss above, and therefore 
patiently, yea, joyfully, submitted to all that the malice 
of earth and hell could inflict. He was vilified that we 
might be honored ; he died that we might live forever 
and ever. 

To conclude : the greatest and best men have discov- 
ered the degeneracy and corruption of human nature, 
and shown them to have been nothing more than men ; 
but it was otherwise with Jesus. He was superior to 
all the men that ever lived, both with regard to the 
purity of his manners and the perfection of his holiness. 
He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from 
sinners. 

Whether we consider him as a teacher or as a man, 
he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." 
His whole life was perfectly free from spot or weakness ; 
at the same time, it was remarkable for the greatest and 
most extensive exercises of purity and goodness. But 
never to have committed the least sin in word or deed, 
never to have uttered my sentiment that could be cen- 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



479 



sured, upon the various topics of religion and morality 
which were the daily subjects of his discourses, and that 
through the course of a life filled with action, and led 
under the observation of many enemies, who had always 
access to converse with him, and who often came to find 
fault, is a pitch of perfection evidently above the reach 
of human nature ; and consequently he who possessed it 
must have been divine. 

Such was the Person who is the subject of the evan- 
gelical history. If the reader, by reviewing his life, 
doctrine, and miracles, as they are here represented to 
him united in one series, has a clearer idea of these 
things than before, or observes a beauty in his actions 
thus linked together, which, taken separately, do not 
appear so fully — if he feels himself touched by the char- 
acter of Jesus in general, or with any of his sermons or 
actions in particular, thus simply delineated in writing 
whose principal charms are the beauties of truth — above 
all, if his dying so generously for men strikes him with 
admiration, or fills him with hope, in the prospect of 
that pardon which is thereby purchased for the world — 
let him seriously consider with himself what improve 
ments he ought to make of the divine goodness. 

Jesus, by his death, hath set open the gate of immor 
tality to the sons of men, and, by his word, spirit, and 
example, graciously offers to make them meet for the 
glorious rewards in the kingdom of the heavenly 
Canaan, and to conduct them into the inheritance of 
the saints in light. Let us therefore remember that, 
being born under the dispensation of his gospel, we 
have, from our earliest years, enjoyed the best means of 
securing to ourselves an interest in that favor of God 



480 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

which is life; and that loving kindness which is better 
than life. 

We have been called to aspire after an exaltation to 
the nature and felicity of the Almighty, exhibited to 
mortal eyes in the man Christ Jesus, to fire us with the 
noblest ambition. His gospel teaches us that we are 
made for eternity, and that our present life is to our 
future existence as infancy to manhood. But, as in the 
former many things are to be learned, many hardships 
to be endured, many habits to be acquired, and that by 
a course of exercises which in themselves though pain- 
ful, and possibly useless, to the child, yet are necessary 
to fit him for the business and enjoyments of manhood, 
so, while we remain in this infancy of human life, things 
are to be learned, hardships to be endured, and habits 
to be acquired by a laborious discipline, which, however 
painful, must be undergone, because necessary to fit us 
for the employments and pleasures of our riper existence 
in the realms above ; always remembering that, what- 
ever our trials may be in this world, if we ask for God's 
assistance he has promised to give it. Inflamed, there- 
fore, with the love of immortality and its joys, let us 
submit ourselves to our heavenly Teacher, and learn of 
him those lessons which alone can render life pleasant, 
death desirable, and fill our hearts with o^gtatic joy 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



481 



CHAPTER XLI. 

REMARKS ON THE PECULIAR NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN- 
RELIGION, THE PRINCIPLES IT INCULCATES, AND ITS FIT- 
NESS TO RENDER MEN HOLY AND HUMBLE HERE, AND 
HAPPILY GLORIFIED HEREAFTER. 

We cannot close this delightful scene of the life of our 
dear Lord and Saviour more comfortably than bj con- 
sidering the benefits resulting from a due attendance to 
his doctrines by all who shall by faith receive and em- 
brace the same. Probably none have been greater 
enemies to the progress of religion than those who 
delineate it in a gloomy and terrifying form, nor any 
guilty of a more injurious calumny against the gospel 
than those who represent its precepts as rigorous impo- 
sitions and unnecessary restraints. 

True religion is the perfection of human nature, and 
the foundation of uniform exalted pleasure, of public 
order, and private happiness. Christianity is the most 
excellent and the most useful institution, having the 
" promise of the life that now is and of that which is 
to come." It is the voice of reason ; it is also the lan- 
guage of Scripture, The ways of wisdom are ways of 
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace ;" and our 
blessed Saviour himself assures us that his precepts are 
easy and the burden of his religion light. 

The Christian religion is a rational service, a worship 

in spirit and truth," a worship worthy of the majesty 
of the Almigtty to receive, and of the nature of man to 
31 



482 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



pay. It comprehends all we ought to believe, and all 
we ought to practice ; its positive rites are few, of plain 
% and easy significancy, and manifestly adapted to estab- 

lish a sense of our obligation to God. The gospel places 
religion, not in abstruse speculation and metaphysical 
subtleties, not in outward show and tedious ceremony, 
not in superstitious austerities and enthusiastic visions ; 
but in purity of heart and holiness of life. The sum of 
our duty, according to our great Master himself, consists 
in the love of God and of our neighbor ; according to St. 
Paul, in denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and in 
living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present 
evil world; according to St. James, in visiting the father- 
less and widows in affliction, and in keeping ourselves 
unspotted from the world. This is the constant strain 
and tenor of the gospel. This it inculcates most ear- 
nestly, and on this it lays the greatest stress. 

But is the Christian system only a republication of the 
law of nature, or merely a refined system of morality ? 
No, certainly : it is a great deal more. It is an act of 
grace, a stupendous plan of Providence, designed for the 
recovery of mankind from a state of degradation and 
ruin to the favot of the Almighty, and to the hopes of a 
happy immortality, through a Mediator. 

Under this dispensation, true religion consists in "re- 
pentance toward God," and in "faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ," as the person appointed by the supreme author- 
ity of heaven and earth to reconcile apostate man to his 
offended Creator ; as a Sacrifice for sin ; our vital Head 
and governing Lord. This is religion, as we are Chris- 
tians. And what hardship, what exaction, is there in 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



483 



all this ? Surely, none. Nay, the practice of religion 
is much easier than the servitude of sin. 

Our rational powers, all will readily agree, are dread- 
fully impaired, and the soul weakened by sin. The 
animal passions are strong and corrupt, and oppose the 
dictates of the Spirit of God; objects of sense make 
powerful impressions on the mind. We are, in every 
situation, surrounded with many snares and temptations. 
In such a disordered state of things, we cannot please 
God till created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. 
We must be born again — born from above. 

The God of all grace has planted in the human breast 
a quick sense of good and evil — a faculty which strongly 
dictates right and wrong ; and though, by the strength 
of appetite and warmth of passion, men are often hur- 
ried into immoral practices, yet in the beginning, espe- 
cially when there has been the advantage of a good 
education, it is usually with reluctance and opposition 
of mind. What inward struggles precede ! what bitter 
pangs attend their sinful excesses ! what guilty blushes 
and uneasy fears ! what frightful prospects and pale 
reviews ! Terrors are upon them, and a fire not 
blown consumeth them." To make a mock of sin, and 
to commit iniquity without remorse, is in some instances 
an attainment that requires length of time and much 
painful labor — more labor than is requisite to attain 
that salvation which is the glory of the man, the orna- 
ment of the Christian, and the chief of his happiness. 
The soul can no more be reconciled to acts of wicked- 
ness and injustice, than the body to excess, but by suf- 
fering many bitter pains and cruel attacks. The mouth 
of conscience may, indeed, be stopped for awhile \i\ 



484 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

tlie noise of company and stifled by the entertainments 
of sense; but this principle of conscience is so deep- 
rooted in human nature, and, at the same time, her 
Toice is so clear and strong, that the sinner's arts will 
be unable to lull her into a lasting security. When the 
hour of calamity arrives, when sickness seizeth and 
death approaches the sinner, conscience then constrains 
him to listen to her accusation, and will not suffer the 
temples of his head to take any rest. There is no 
peace to the wicked the foundations of peace are sub- 
verted ; they are at utter enmity with their reason, with 
their conscience, and with their God. 

Not so is the case of true religion. For, when religion 
pure and genuine forms the temper and governs the life, 
conscience applauds, and peace takes her residence in 
the breast. The soul is in its proper state. There is 
order and regularity both in the faculties and actions. 
Conscious of its own integrity, and secure of the divine 
approbation, the soul enjoys a calmness not to be de- 
scribed. But why do I call this happy frame mere 
calmness ? the air may be calm, and the day overcast 
with thick mists and dark clouds. The pious and vir- 
tuous mind resembles a serene day enlightened and en- 
livened with the brightest rays of the sun. Though all 
without may be clouds and darkness, there is light in 
the heart of a devout man : He is satisfied with 
favor," and '^filled with peace and joy in belie^dng." 
In the concluding scene, the awful moment of dissolu- 
tion, all is peaceful and serene. The immortal part 
quits its tenement of clay, with the well-grounded hope 
of ascending to happiness and glory. 

Nor does the gospel enjoin any duty but what is fit 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



485 



and reasonable. It calls upon all its professors to prac- 
tice reverence, submission, love, and gratitude to God ; 
justice, truth, and universal benevolence to men ) and 
to maintain the government of our minds. And what 
has any one to object against this ? From the least 
to the greatest commandment of our dear Redeemer, 
there is not one which impartial reason can find fault 
with. His law is perfect ; his precepts are true and 
righteous altogether." Not even those excepted which 
require us "to love our enemies, to deny ourselves," and 
to take up our cross." To forgive an injury is more 
generous and manly than to revenge it ; to control a 
licentious appetite, than to indulge it ; to suffer poverty, 
reproach, and even death itself, in the sacred cause of 
truth and integrity, is much wiser and better than by 
base compliances to make " shipwreck of faith and a 
good conscience." Thus in a storm on sea, or a confla- 
gration on the land, a man with pleasure abandons his 
slumber to secure his jewels. Piety and virtue are the 
wisest and most reasonable things in the world, vice and 
wickedness the most irrational and absurd. 

The All- wise Author of our being hath so framed our 
natures, and placed us in such relations, that there is 
nothing vicious but what is injurious, nothing virtuous 
but what is advantageous to our present interest both 
with respect to body and mind. Meekness and hu- 
mility, patience and universal charity, the fruits of grace, 
give a joy unknown to transgressors. 

The divine virtues of truth and equity are the only 
bands of friendship, the only supports of society. Tem- 
perance and sobriety are the best preservatives of health 
and strength; but sin and debauchery impair the body. 



486 LIFE OF CHRIST. 

consume the substance, reduce to poverty, and form the 
dkect path to an hnmediate and ul timely death. Now, 
the chief excellency of all laws, and what will always 
render their burden pleasant and delightful is, that 
they enjoin nothing unbecoming or injurious. 

Besides, to render our duty easy, we have the exam- 
ple, as well as the commands, of the blessed Jesus. The 
masters of morality among the heathen gave excellent 
rules for the regulation of men's manners ; but they 
wanted either the honesty or the courage to try their 
own arguments upon themselves. It was a strong pre- 
sumption that the yoke of the Scribes and Pharise^is was 
grievous, when they laid "heavy burdens upon men's 
shoulders," which they themselves refused to touch with 
one of their fingers. Not thus our great lawgiver, Jesus 
Christ the righteous. His behavior was in all respects 
conformable to his doctrine. His devotion toward God, 
how sublime and ardent! his benevolence toward men, 
how great and diffusive ! He was in life an exact pat- 
tern of innocence ; for he " did no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth." In the Son of God incarnate is 
exhibited the brightest, the fairest resemblance of the 
Father that earth or heaven ever beheld ; an example 
peculiarly persuasive, calculated to inspire resolution, 
and to animate us to use our utmost endeavors to imi- 
tate the divine pattern, the example of ^^the author and 
finisher of our faith," of him " who loved us and gave 
himself for us." Our profession and character as Chris- 
tians oblige us to make his example the model of our 
lives. Every motive of decency, gratitude, and interest 
constrains us to tread the path he trod before us. 

We should also remember that our burden is easy; 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



487 



because God, who knoweth whereof we are made, who 
considereth that we are but dust," is ever ready to 
assist us. The heathen sages themselves had some 
notion of this assistance, though guided only by the glim- 
mering lamp of reason. But what they looked upon as 
probable the gospel clearly and strongly asserts. We 
there hear the apostles exhorting, " Let us come boldly 
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and 
find grace to help in time of need." We there hear the 
blessed Jesus himself arguing in this convincing man- 
ner : If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts 
unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly 
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him !" 

Though we may not be able to explain the mode of 
his operations, the Scriptures warrant us to assert, that, 
when men are renewed and prepared for heaven, it is 

through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the 
truth." How enlivening the thought ! how encouraging 
the motive ! We are not left to struggle alone with the 
difficulties which attend the practice of virtue, in the 
present imperfect state. To promote the happiness of 
his people, every thing is done by Christ that is requisite, 
his grace is all-sufficient, his Spirit is able to conduct us 
through this vale of tears, to never-fading bliss. 

We should also remember, that the great doctrine of 
the gospel, concerning the propitious mercy of God to 
all penitents, through Christ Jesus, greatly contributes 
to the consolation of Christians. Let it be granted that 
the hope of pardon is essential to the religion of Mien 
creatures, and one of its first principles, yet, considering 
the doubts and suspicions which are apt to arise in a 
mind conscious of guilt, it is undoubtedly a great and 



488 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



inestimable favor to be relieved in this respect by a 
messenger from Omnipotence himself This is our hap- 
piness. Here the gospel triumphs. With these assur- 
ances it abounds. Upon this head the declarations of 
our blessed Saviour and his apostles are so express and 
full, that every one who believes them, and knows him- 
self to be a true penitent, must banish every doubt and 
fear, and rejoice with joy unspeakable, Come unto me, 
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest." Matt. xi. 28. ^"All manner of sin and blas- 
phemy shall be forgiven unto men." Matt. xii. 31. 

The blood of Jesus cleanseth from all sin." 1 John 
i. 7. What grace and favor is this ! Now our way is 
plain before us, and the burden we are to bear is made 
easy. Our sins are pardonable, if repented of and for- 
saken. 

Consider this, all ye who have never yet regarded 
religion, but pursued a course of vice and sensuality all 
your lives long. Though your conduct has been base, 
to the last degree, your case is not desperate. The God 
whom you have so highly offended commiserates your 
errors, is ever ready to extend his pardoning mercy to 
his most degenerate creatures, upon their faith and re- 
pentance, and ^'is in Christ Jesus reconciling the world 
to himself, not imputing unto sinners their trespasses. 
Let the wicked, therefore, forsake his way, and the un- 
righteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our 
God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isaiah Iv. 7. 

Another particular, which renders the Christian re- 
ligion delightful, is its leading us to the perfect, eternal 
life of heaven. It cannot be denied but that we may 



LIFE OF CHEIST. 



489 



draw from the light of nature strong presumptions of a 
future state. The present existence does not look like 
an entire scene, but rather like the infancy of human 
nature, which is capable of arriving at a much higher 
degree of maturity. But, whatever solid foundation the 
doctrine of a future state may have in nature and 
reason, certain it is, through the habitual neglect of re- 
flection, and the force of irregular passions, this doctrine 
was, before the coming of our blessed Saviour, very 
much disfigured, and, in a great measure, lost among 
the sons of men.* 

In the heathen world, a future state of rewards and 
punishments was a matter of mere speculation and un- 
certainty — sometimes hoped for, sometimes doubted of, 
and sometimes absolutely denied. f The law of Moses, 

* The doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments, in some 
form, enters into the religious creed of all civilized nations, ancient and 
modern. It has ever acted upon the hopes and fears of mankind ; but in 
the rejection or absence of Divine Revelation, it has been so corrupted by 
fables, by priestcraft, poetry, or the false philosophy of metempsy- 
chosis, as to have lost almost all its salutary effect in the conscience and 
the life. 

Modern Spiritism (miscalled Spiritualism) is but a revival of the ancient 
heathen Necromancy, and is corrupting the whole doctrine of the future 
life in the minds of its mystified and credulous disciples. That some men 
of high station and culture embrace it only proves how low pride can fall 
before the poor image of its own creation. 

t Our author here refers not to the national creeds or popular beliefs 
of the heathen world in the time of Christ, but to the speculations of the 
philosophers of Greece and Rome for five hundred years before his Advent. 
While Conscience still asserted the judgixient of God in a future life, Reason 
recoiled from the fabulous forms in which it was generally taught, and 
sought for substantial evidence of its nature and reality from every quar- 
ter, as by Socrates, Plato, Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch, and others ; while many, 
like Epicurus and Polybius, doubted or denied the evidence altogether. 
Among the Jews this latter class was represented by the Sadducees. 



m 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



though of divine origin, is chieHy enforced by promises 
of temporal blessings ; and even in the writings of the 
prophets a future immortality is very sparingly men- 
tioned and obscurely represented ; but the doctrine of 
our Saviour hath brought life and immortality to 
light."* 

In the gospel we have a distinct account of another 
world, attended with many engaging circumstances, * 
about which the decisions of reason were dark and con- 
fused. We have the testimony of the Author of our 
religion, who was raised from the dead, and who after- 
ward, in the presence of his disciples, ascended into 
heaven. In the New Testament it is expressly declared 
that good men ^Svhen absent from the body are present 
with the Lord." Here we are assured of the resurrec- 
tion of the body in a glorious form, clothed with 
immortal vigor, suited to the active nature of the 
animating spirit, and assisting its most enlarged opera- 
tions and incessant progress toward perfection. Here 
we are assured that ^^the righteous shall go into life 
everlasting ;" that they shall enter into the kingdom of 
the heavenly Canaan, where no ignorance shall cloud 
the understanding, no vice disturb the will. In these 
regions of perfection, nothing but love shall possess the 
soul, nothing but gratitude employ the tongue ; there 
the righteous shall be united to an innumerable company 
of angels, and to the general assembly and church of 

^ This phrase (2 Tim. i. 10) does not mean that Christ was the first 
who taught the reality of a future hfe (which is not true in fact), but that 
he first threw a sure and steady Hght into the awful obscurities of the 
future world ; revealing the way of salvation to the soul and the resurrec- 
tion of the body to incorruption and glory, of which he himself was iho 
first great example. 1 Cor. xv. 20, 50-58. 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



491 



the first-born ; there they shall see their exalted 
Eedeemer at the right hand of Omnipotence, and sit 
down with him on his throne; there they shall be 
admitted into the immediate presence of the supreme 
Fountain of life and happiness, and, beholding his face, 
be changed into the same image from glory to glory. 
Here language, here imagination, fail me ! It requires 
the genius, the knowledge, and the pen of an angel, to 
paint the happiness and blissful scene of the New Jeru- 
salem, which human eyes cannot behold till this mortal 
body shall be purified from its corruption and dressed 
in the robes of immortality : " Eye hath not seen, nor 
ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart to con- 
ceive, the joys which God hath prepared for those that 
love him." 

What is the heaven of the heathen compared with 
the heaven of the Christian ? The hope, the prospect 
of this is sufficient to reconcile us to all the difficulties 
that may attend our progress, to sweeten all our labors, 
alleviate every grief, and silence every murmur. 

But why, says the libertine, in the gayety of his heart, 
should there be any difficulties or restraint at all ? God 
hath made nothing in vain. The appetites he hath 
planted in the human breast are to be gratified. To 
deny or restrain them is ignominious bondage ; but to 
give full scope to every desire and passion of the heart, 
without check or control, is true, manly freedom. 

In opposition to this loose and careless way of reason- 
ing, let it be considered that the liberty of a rational 
creature doth not consist in an entire exemption from 
all control, but in following the dictates of reason as 
the governing principle, and in keeping the various 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



passions in due subordination. To follow the regular 
motion of those affections which the wise Creator hath 
implanted within us, is our duty ; but as our natural 
desires, in this state of trial, are often irregular, we are 
bound to restrain their excesses, and not to indulge 
them but in a strict subserviency to the integrity and 
peace of our minds and to the order and happiness of 
human society established in the world. Those who 
allow the supreme command to be usurped by sensual 
and brutal appetites may "promise themselves liberty," 
but are truly and absolutely 'Hhe servants of corruption." 
To be vicious is to be enslaved. We behold with pity 
those miserable objects that are chained in the galleys 
or confined in dark and loathsome dungeons ; but much 
more abject and vile is the slavery of the sinner ! No 
slavery of the body is equal to the bondage of the mind ; 
no ch ains press so closely or gall so cruelly as the fetters 
of sin, which corrode the' very substance of the soul and 
fret every faculty. 

It must, indeed, be confessed that there are some 
profligates so hardened by custom as to be past all 
feeling, and who, because insensible of their bondage, 
boast of this insensibility as a mark of their native 
freedom, and of their happiness. Yain men ! they 
might extol with equal propriety the peculiar happi- 
ness of an apoplexy, or the profound tranquillity of a 
lethargy. 

Thus have we endeavored to place in a plain and 
conspicuous light some of the peculiar excellences of 
the Christian religion; and from hence many useful 
reflections will naturally arise in the mind of every 
attentive reader. It is the religion of Jesus that hath 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



493 



removed idolatry and superstition, and brought immor- 
tality to light when concealed under the vail of darkness 
almost impenetrable. This hath set the great truths 
of religion in a clear and conspicuous point of view, and 
proposed new and powerful motives to influence our 
minds and to determine our conduct. Nothing is 
enjoined to be believed but what is worthy of God, 
nothing to be practiced but what is friendly to man. 
All the doctrines of the gospel are rational and consis- 
tent ; all its precepts are truly wise, just, and good. The 
gospel contains nothing grievous to an ingenuous mind ; 
it debars us from nothing but doing harm to ourselves 
or to our fellow-creatures, and permits us to range any- 
where but in the paths of danger and destruction. It 
only requires us to act up to its excellent commands, 
and to prefer to the vanishing pleasures of sin the smiles 
of a reconciled God, and '^an eternal weight of glory.'' 
And is this a rigorous exaction, a heavy burden not to 
be endured ? How can sinful mortals harbor so un- 
worthy a thought ? 

Surely no man who is a real friend to the cause of 
virtue and to the interests of mankind can ever be an 
enemy to Christianity, if he truly understands it and 
eriously reflects on its wise and useful tendency. It 
onducts us to our journey's end by the plainest and 
securest path, where the steps are not straitened, and 
where he that runneth stumbleth not." 

Let us who live under this last and most gracious dis- 
pensation of God to mankind count all things but loss, 
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our 
Lord," and not suffer ourselves, by the slight cavils of 
unbelievers, to be moved away from the hope of the 



494 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



gospel." Let us demonstrate that we believe the supe- 
rior excellency of the Christian dispensation, by con- 
forming to its precepts. Let us show that we are 
Christians in deed and in truth ; not by endless disputes 
about trifles, and the transports of a blind zeal, but by 
abounding in those ''fruits of righteousness which are, 
through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God." 

From what has been said, we may clearly perceive 
how groundless all those prejudices are which some con- 
ceive against religion, as if it were a peevish, morose 
scheme, burdensome to human nature and inconsistent 
with the true enjoyment of life. Such sentiments are 
too apt to prevail in the heat of youth, when the spirits 
are brisk and lively and the passions warm and impetu- 
ous ; but it is w^holly a mistake, and a mistake of the 
most dangerous tendency. The truth is, there is no 
pleasure like that of a good conscience ; no real peace but 
what results from the sense of the divine favor. This 
ennobles the mind, and can alone support it under all 
the various and unequal scenes of the present state of 
trial. This lays the sure foundation of an easy, comfort- 
able life, of a serene and peaceful death, and of eternal 
joy and happiness hereafter ; whereas vice is ruinous to 
all our most valuable interests, spoils the native beauty 
and subverts the order of the soul, renders us the scorn 
of man, the rejected of God, and, without timely repen- 
tance, will rob us of a happy eternity. Religion is the 
health, the liberty, and the happiness of the soul ; sin is 
the disease, the servitude, and destruction of it. 

If this be not sufficient to convince you, let me lead 
you into the chamber of an habitual rioter, the lewd 
debauchee, worn out in the cause of iniquity, '' his bones 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



495 



full of the sins of his youth," that from his own mouth, 
as he lies on his expiring bed, you may learn that the 
way of transgressors is hard/' and that, however sweet 
sin may be in the commission, it afterward " stings like 
a serpent and bites like an adder." 

I am going, reader, to represent to you the last mo- 
ments of a person of high birth and spirits, of great parts 
and strong passions, every way accomplished, but, un- 
happily, attached to those paths which lead to vice and 
destruction. 

His mikind treatment was the cause of the death of 
a most amiable wife, and his monstrous extravagance, 
in effect, disinherited his only child. And surely the 
death-bed of a profligate is next in horror to that abyss 
to which it leads ! It has the most of hell that is visible 
upon earth ; and he that hath seen it hath more than 
faith to confirm him in his creed. I see now (says the 
worthy divine from whom I shall borrow this relation),* 
for who can forget it ? Are there in it no flames and 
furies ? You are ignorant, then, of what a scared imagi- 
nation can figure, what a guilty heart can feel ! How 
dismal it is ! The two great enemies of soul and body, 
Sickness and Sin, sink and confound his friends : silence 
and darkness are in the dismal scene. Sickness excludes 
the light of heaven, and sin its blessed hope. Oh, double 
darkness, more than Egyptian ! actually to be felt ! 

The sad evening before the death of the noble youth 
whose last hours suggested these thoughts, I was with 
him. No one else was there but his physician, and an 



* Dr. Young, author of the celebrated "Night Thoughts," in his " Cen 
taur, not Fabulous." 



496 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



intimate acquaintance, whom he loved and whotn he had 
ruined. 

At my coming he said : " You and the physician are 
come too late : I have neither life nor hope. You both 
aim at miracles. You would raise the dead !" 
Heaven/' I said, was merciful." 
Or I could not," answered he, have been thus 
guilty. What has it not done to bless and to save me? 
I have been too strong for Omnipotence. I plucked 
down ruin." 

I said, The blessed Redeemer — " 

"Hold, hold!" said he; ^'you wound me! This is 
the rock on which I split ! I denied his name !" 

Refusing to hear any thing from me or take any thing 
from his physician, he lay silent, as far as sudden darts 
of pain would permit, till the clock struck. Then he 
cried out, with vehemence, "Oh, time! time! it is fit 
thou shouldst strike thy murderer to the heart. How 
art thou fled forever ! A month ! Oh, for a single week ! 
I ask not for years — though an age were too little for 
the much I have to do." 

On my saying to him, we could not do too much, that 
heaven was a blessed place — 

" So much the worse," replied he : " 'tis lost ! 'tis 
lost ! Heaven is to me the severest part of hell !" 

Soon after, I proposed prayer ; to whicn he answered : 
" Pray, you that can. I never prayed. I cannot pray. 
My conscience is too much wounded. I have deserted 
my benevolent Maker, and my soul is enveloped in the 
deepest horrors." 

His friend, being much touched, even to tears, at this 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



497 



(for who could forbear? I could not), he, with the most 
affectionate look said : 

Keep those tears for thyself : I have undone thee. 
Dost thou weep for me ? That is cruel. What can pain 
me more ?" 

Here his friend, too much affected, would have left 
him. 

No," said he : stay. You still may hope : there- 
fore hear me. How madly have I talked ! how madly 
hast thou listened and behoved ! But look on my pres- 
ent state as a full answer to thee and to myself. This 
body is all weakness and pain ; but my soul, as if stung 
up by torment to greater strength and spirit, is full pow- 
erful to reason, full mighty to suffer ; and that which 
thus triumphs within the jaws of mortality is, doubtless, 
immortal. And, as for a Deity, nothing less than an 
Almighty could inflict the pains I feel." 

I was about to congratulate this passive, involuntary 
confessor, in his asserting the two prime articles of his 
creed, extorted by the rack of nature, when he thus 
very passionately added : — " No, no ! let me speak on. 
I have not long to speak. My much-injured friend ' 
My soul, as my body, lies in ruins, in scattered frag- 
ments of broken thought. Remorse for the past throws 
my thoughts on the future ; worse dread of the future 
strikes it back on the past. I turn, and turn, and flnd 
no ray. Didst thou feel half the mountain that is on 
me, thou wouldst struggle with the martyr for his stake, 
and bless heaven for the flame. That is not an everlast- 
ing flame, that is not an unquenchable Are !" 

How were we struck ! yet, soon after, still more. 

With an eye of distraction, witli a face of despair, he 
32 



498 



LIFE OF CHRIST. 



cried out, My principles have poisoned my friend ; my 
extravagance beggared my boy ; my unkindness mur- 
dered my wife ! And is there yet another hell ? 0 thou 
blasphemed yet indulgent Lord God! hell itself is a 
refuge if it hides me from thy frown." 

Soon after, his understanding failed ; his terrified 
imagination uttered horrors not to be repeated or ever 
forgotten ; and, before the sun (which I hope has seen 
few like him) arose, this gay, young, noble, ingenuous, 
accomplished, and most wretched mortal expired. 

It must, indeed, be owned it sometimes happens that 
men who have lived very wicked lives, have gone out 
of the world as they have lived in it, defying conscience 
and deriding a future judgment as an idle fiction. But 
these instances are very rare, and only prove that there 
are monsters in the moral as well as the natural world. 

It will perhaps be said that the sons of vice and riot 
have pleasure in sensual indulgences. Allowed ; but it 
is altogether of the lower kind, empty, fleeting, and 
transient : " like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so 
is the mirth of the wicked." It makes a noise and a 
blaze for the present, but soon vanishes away into smoke 
and vapor. 

On the other hand, the pleasure of religion is solid 
and lasting, and will attend us through all, even the 
last, stage of life. When we have passed the levity of 
youth, and have lost our relish for the gay entertainments 
of sense, when old age steals upon us, and stoops us 
toward the grave, this will cleave fast to us and give us 
relief. It will be so far from terminating at death, that 
it then commences perfect, and continually improves, 
with new additions. 



AdafjjletLto the 
G-OSPT. T. 
and cvhibtting tlie 
TniXCIRAL TRAVELS QE 




" BflfeFence bo oiii-lj>i'ds'fi?t 

\'liTarH JazareOi to Jcriisajtm nfifii fnrlrr 
of'ugr iinel Jiisrttiii-r> ■ 
Frtmi lu.{ entranct on his Mni^fV ^ 
t/u- Ptjssorrf nrj-f etisniju/iii Hie Vn'iiv i 
rxrstyear oTlus life M).i3 ' ) 

Fitmi till tlrst to t/ie xcanul fbssvvcf 
fill fifty tin- Sfuiiftnt' AJi 30 

trtnn- Jrrvsajrrn ff> (hpcrnnnm rr/itf \ 
thr iclrijmii^t nft/it sfrttntl /h.viy}T7' j * *" 
B'tippffU's ihfzt oijrlMiHi rli/i jioi risti ./rni^nlaii 
ut Itte celfjjrahm nfritltrr Ihc Unrri n-fmrtJi Jbssrirr 
e/nrrnff his Ministry lat rrsidinifiiiieilv at (h/iem<in/t, 
fiynue^^d\■^^sUrt^ otiier.patis ut'i.altlf<:a^scrii<1im^^^ 
^JcBiiittiy bt^uiJcritlm'miithrSrit cftribkr n- Tt 




LIFE OF CHEIST. 



499 



Clad in this immortal robe, we need not fear the 
awful summons of the king of terrors, nor regret our 
retiring into the chambers of the dust. Our immortal 
part will wing its way to the arms of its Omnipotent 
Eedeemer, and find rest in the heavenly mansions of the 
Almighty. And though our earthly part, this tabernacle 
of clay, returns to its original dust and is dissolved, our 
joy, our consolation, our confidence, is that we have a 
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens/' 



THE 

LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



ST. PETEE. 

St. Peter was born at Bethsaida, on the banks of the 
lake of Gennesareth, called also the sea of Galilee, from 
its being situated in that country, and the lake of Tibe- 
rias, from that city being built on its banks. His 
father's name was Jonah. He was at least ten years 
older than his Master ; the circumstances of his being 
married, and in a settled course of life, when he first 
became a follower of the great Messiah, and that author- 
ity and respect the gravity of his person procured him 
among the rest of the apostles, sufficiently declare this 
conjecture to be just. 

As he was a descendant of Abraham, he was circum- 
cised according to the rites of the Mosaic law, and called 
by his parents Simon or Simeon, a name common at 
that time among the Jews. But after his becoming a 
disciple of the blessed Jesus, the additional title of 
Cephas was conferred upon him by his Master, to denote 
the firmness of his faith; the word Cephas, in the 
Syriac, the common language of the Jews at that time, 
siLinifying a stone or rock ; and thence he is called, in 

(500) 



ST. PETER. 



501 



Greek, Petros^ and by us Peter, which implies the same 
thing. 

Simon Peter, in his youth, was brought up at Beth- 
saida, to the trade of fishing on the lake, famous for differ- 
ent kinds of fish, which excelled all others in the fineness 
of their taste. He afterward removed to Capernaum, 
where he settled ; for we find he had a house there 
when our Saviour began his public ministry*' and there 
he paid tribute. 

The business of Peter was both mean and toilsome ; it 
exposed him to all the injuries of the weather, the tem- 
pestuousness of the sea, and the darkness and horror of 
the night, and all to acquire a mean livelihood for him- 
self and family. But meanness of worldly degree is no 
obstacle to the favor of God : nay, if we review the state 
of Christianity, from its rise to the present period, we 
shall find that its friends and votaries consist rather of 
persons of humble and lowly stations of life, than of the 
great, the dignified, and the opulent. 

And herein are manifested the wise and admirable 
methods used by Divine Providence, in making choice 
of such mean and unlikely instruments in planting and 
propagating the Christian religion in the world. Men 
who were destitute of the advantages of education, and 
brought up to the meanest employments, were chosen 
to confound the wise, and overturn the learning of 
the great. 

We know, indeed, that his brother Andrew was a 
follower of John the Baptist and was led by him to 
the personal knowledge of Christ. 

It is not enough to be happy alone : grace is a com- 
municative principle, that, like the circles in the water, 



502 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



deligfits to multiply itself, and to diffuse its influences 
all around, especially on those whom nature has placed 
nearest to us. I have, said Andrew, with rapture to his 
brother, found that eminent person so long and signally 
foretold by the prophets, and whom all the devout and 
pious among the sons of Jacob so earnestly expected. 

Simon, who was one of those who waited for the re- 
demption of Israel, ravished with the joyful news, and 
impatient of delay, presently followed his brother ; and 
on his arrival our blessed Saviour immediately gave 
him a proof of his divinity ; saluting him at first sight 
by his name, and telling him both who he was, his 
name and kindred, and what title should soon be con- 
ferred upon him. 

Peter was undoubtedly one of the disciples who were 
with J esus at the marriage at Cana in Galilee, and after- 
ward went with him into Judea, where he tarried the 
first year of his ministry, and baptized. But he did not 
become conspicuous until they returned to Galilee at the 
beginning of the next year. 

In order to avoid the prodigious throng of people, our 
great Kedeemer, who might have commanded, was 
pleased to entreat Peter, who had now returned to his 
boat, to thrust off a little from the land, that he might 
instruct the people. 

Peter gladly complied with the request of his Master, 
who delivered his heavenly doctrine to the people on 
the shore. As soon as he had ended his discourse he 
ordered Simon to row farther from the shore, and cast 
his net into the sea. To which Simon answered, that 
they had labored the preceding night, and had taken 
nothing; and, if they could not then succeed, there 



ST. PETER. 



503 



were little hopes of it now, as the day was far less 
proper for fishing than the night. But as his Master 
was pleased to command, he would obey ; and accord- 
ingly he let down his net, when, to the astonishment 
both of him and of his companions, so great a multitude 
of fishes were enclosed, that they were obliged to call 
their partners to their assistance. Amazed at this 
miraculous draught of fishes, Simon Peter, in an ecstacy 
of admiration, blended with awe and humility, fell 
prostrate at his Master's feet, acknowledging himself a 
vile and sinful man, and thinking himself unworthy of 
being admitted into the presence of a person so imme- 
diately sent from God. But the compassionate Son of 
the Most High kindly removed his fears ; telling him 
that this miracle was wrought to confirm his faith, and 
indicate to him that the Almighty had appointed a more 
noble employment for him, that of saving the souls of 
the children of men. 

From this time Peter and his companions became the 
inseparable and constant disciples of the great Messiah, 
living under the rules of his discipline and institutions. 

The blessed Jesus, having entered upon his hnportant 
mission, thought proper to select some peculiar persons 
from among his followers to be constant witnesses of his 
miracles and doctrine, and who, after his departure, 
might be entrusted with the care of building his church, 
and planting that religion in the world, for which he 
himself left the mansions of heaven and put on the vail 
of mortality. All the evangelists, in their enumeration 
of the apostles, constantly place St. Peter first. But we 
must not on that account suppose that Peter was invested 
ivith any personal prerogatives above his brethren. None 



504 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

of them ever intimated any such thing ; and St. Paul 
says expressly that he was not inferior to the very chief- 
est apostle.* 

These he afterward invested with the power of work- 
ing miracles, and sent them into different parts of J udea, 
in order to carry on with more rapidity the great work 
which he himself had so happily begun. 

Soon after his election, Peter, with James and John, 
was permitted by the Saviour to be present at the rais- 
ing to life of Jairus's daughter, a privilege eu joyed only 
by these three apostles, and the parents of the child. 

We have no farther account of St. Peter in particular, 
till the night after our Saviour's miraculously feeding the 
multitude in the wilderness. Jesus had ordered his dis- 
ciples to take ship, and pass over to the other side, while 
he sent the multitude away. But a violent storm arising, 
they were in great danger of their lives, when their Mas- 
ter came unto them, walking on the surface of the bois- 
terous billows with the same ease as if it had been dry 
ground. 

Peter, who was always remarkable for bold resolutions, 
desired his Master to give him leave to come to him on 
the water ; and on obtaining permission, he left the ship, 
and walked on the sea to meet his Saviour. But when 
he heard the deep roar around him, and the waves in- 
crease, he began to be afraid ; and as his faith declined, 
his body sunk in the water ; so that in the greatest 
agony he called for assistance to him who was able to 

*^ Peter's seniority of age goes far of itself to explain this. In natural 
gifts of speaking, also, he seems specially qualified to be a leader ; while 
his characteristics — impulsive in feeling, decisive in judgment, demon- 
strative in utterance, and daring in action — instinctively put him in the 
front rank of the twelve. 



ST. PETER. 



505 



save. Nor was his cry in vain ; the compassionate Ke- 
deemer of mankind stretched out his hand, and again 
placed him on the surface of the water, with this gentle 
reproof, ^^0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou 
doubt ?" 

The very next day, in the synagogue of Capernaum, 
the Saviour's discourse gave such offence, that many of 
his professed disciples w^ent back and walked no more 
with him." Jesus said to the twelve, Will ye also go 
away?" Peter replied in behalf of them all, ''Lord, to 
whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. 
And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God." This noble and explicit 
confession of faith in J esus as the Messiah, was not long 
after repeated on a new occasion at Cesarea, Philippi. 

The inhabitants of Judea, who beheld with astonish- 
ment the miracles wrought by the blessed Jesus, had 
formed many conjectures concerning him. Our great 
Redeemer was not ignorant of this : but being willing to 
hear what account his disciples would give of the various 
opinions of the people, asked them what the world said 
concerning him ? To which they replied, that some took 
him for John the Baptist, risen from the dead; some 
thought him to be Elias, and others Jeremiah, or one of 
the old prophets. He asked them what they themselves 
thought of him : to which Peter, in the name of the rest, 
answered, " Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God," 
anointed and set apart by the Most High, to be the great 
King, Priest, and Prophet of Israel. 

This full and comprehensive declaration of Peter sat- 
isfied the inquiry of our blessed Saviour, who answered : 
^' Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- Jon ah ; for flesh and blood 



506 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is 
in heaven." 

The disciples then had no idea that their Master was 
to suffer death for the sins of the world ; on the contrary, 
they considered him as immortal, having imbibed the 
opinion of the Scribes and Pharisees, ^^that Christ 
abideth forever :" so that when the blessed Jesus told 
them of the sufferings he must undergo at Jerusalem, 
what affronts and indignities he must suffer, and be at 
last put to death with all the acts of torture and dis- 
grace, by a sentence of the Jewish Sanhedrim, Peter, 
who could not endure the thought of his Master's suffer- 
ing even the least punishment, much less those cruelties 
he had mentioned, and at last death itself, interrupted 
him very unseasonably, and said: ''Be it far from thee, 
Lord ; this shall not be unto thee." He considered these 
sufferings as inconsistent with the character of the great 
Messiah, whom he expected would restore the splendor 
of the throne of David his father, and reduce all the 
kingdoms of the earth to his obedience. But our blessed 
Saviour, who came down from heaven to give his life a 
ransom for the sins of the world, and who valued the 
redemption of mankind infinitely more than his own 
ease and safety, returned this sharp reproof : '' Get thee 
behind me, Satan, thou art an offence unto me." Thy 
pernicious counsels in seeking to oppose the design for 
which I purposely left the courts of heaven, are offen- 
sive ; and thou savorest not the things that be of God, 
but those that be of men." 

Some time after, the great Kedeemer of the souls of 
men, being to receive a specimen of his future glorifica^ 
tionj took with him three of his most inthnate apostles, 



ST. PETER. 



507 



Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and went up into a 
very high mountain, and while they were employed in 
earnest addresses to the Almighty, he was transfigured 
before them, an evident and sensible representation of 
that state, when the just shall ^^walk in white robes, 
and shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." 
During this heavenly scene, the great prophets Moses 
and Elias appeared in all the brightness and majesty of 
a glorified state, familiarly conversing with him, and dis- 
coursing of the death and sufferings he was shortly to 
undergo, and his ascension to the heavenly regions of 
bliss and happiness. 

After this heavenly scene our blessed Lord travelled 
through Galilee, and at his return to Capernaum, the 
tax-gatherers came to Peter and asked him whether 
his Master was not obliged to pay tribute ? When our 
blessed Saviour was informed of this demand, rather 
than give offence, he wrought a miracle to pay it. 

The blessed Jesus proceeded to Bethany, from whence 
he sent Peter and John, to make preparations for his 
celebrating the passover. 

Every thing being ready, our blessed Saviour and his 
apostles entered the house, and sat down to the table. 
But their great Master, who often taught them by exam- 
ple as well as precept, arose from his seat, laid aside his 
upper garment, took the towel, and pouring water into 
a basin, began to wash his disciples' feet, to teach them 
humility and charity, by his own example. But on his 
coming to Peter, he would by no means admit his Master 
to perform so mean and condescending an office. What ! 
the Son of God stoop to wash the feet of a sinful mortal ! 
A thought which shocked the apostle, who strenuously 



508 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



declared, Thou shalt never wash my feet." But the 
blessed Jesus told him that if he washed him not, he 
could have no part with him; intimating, that this 
action was symbolical, and signified the remission of 
sins, and the purifying virtue of the Spirit of the Most 
High, to be poured upon all true Christians. This 
answer sufficiently removed the scruples of Peter, who 
cried out, ^^Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands 
and my head." Wash me in every part, rather than let 
me lose my portion in thee. 

Our great Kedeemer now began the institution of his 
Supper, that great and solemn institution, which he 
resolved to leave behind him, to be constantly celebrated 
in his church, as a standing monument of his love in 
dying for mankind ; telling them at the same time that 
he himself was now going to leave them, and that 
"'whither he went, they could not come." Peter, not 
well understanding what he meant, asked him whither 
he was going. To which our great Redeemer replied, 
that he was going to that place whither he could not 
now, but should hereafter follow him : intimating the 
martyrdom he was to suffer for his Master's religion. 
Peter answered, that he was ready now to follow him, 
even if it required him to lay down his life. This con 
fident presumption was not at all agreeable to the blessed 
Jesus, who told him he had promised great things, but 
would be so far from performing them, that before ''the 
cock crew" he would deny him thrice. 

Supper being now ended, Jesus again put them in 
mind how greatly the things he was going to suffer would 
offend them. To which Peter replied, that "though all 
men should be offended because of him, yet he himself 



ST. PETER. 509 

would never be offended." How far will an indiscreet 
zeal and affection transport even a good man into vanity 
and presumption ! Peter questions the fidelity of others, 
but never doubts his own : though his Lord had just 
before reproved him for his self-sufficiency. 

They now repaired to the garden of Gethsemane; 
and leaving the rest of the apostles near the entrance, 
our blessed Saviour, taking with him Peter, J ames, and 
John, retired into the most solitary part of the garden, 
to enter on the preparatory scene of the great tragedy 
that was now approaching. 

A band of soldiers, from the chief priests and elders, 
preceded by the traitor Judas, to conduct and direct 
them, rushed into the garden, and seized the great High- 
Priest of our profession. Peter, whose ungovernable 
zeal would admit of no restraint, drew his sword, and, 
without the least order from his Master, struck at one 
of the persons who seemed to be remarkably busy in 
binding Jesus, and cut off his right ear. This zeal was 
very offensive to his Master, who rebuked Peter, and 
entreated the patience of the soldiers, while he miracu- 
lously healed the wound. 

Now the fidelity of the apostles, which they had urged 
with so much confidence, was put to the trial. But, 
alas ! instead of assisting or comforting their great 
Master, they forsook him and fled. 

Peter, who had followed the other disciples in their 
flight, recovered his spirits, and being encouraged by his 
companion, St. John, returned to seek his Master. See- 
ing them leading him to the high-priest's hall, he 
followed at a distance to know the event : but on his 
coming to the door, was refused admittance, till one of 



510 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



the disciples who was acquamted there, came out, and 
prevailed upon the servant who kept the door, to let 
him in, Peter, being admitted, repaired to the fire, 
burning in the middle of the hall, round which the ofii- 
cers and servants were standing ; where being observed 
bj the maid-servant who let him in, she charged him 
with being one of Christ's disciples : but Peter publicly 
denied the charge, declaring that he did not know him, 
and presently withdrew into the porch, where another 
maid met him, and charged him with being one of the 
followers of Jesus of Nazareth, which Peter denied, 
and, the better to gain belief, ratified it with an oath. 

About an hour after, a servant of the high-priest, 
akin to him whose ear Peter had cut off, charged him with 
being a disciple of Christ, and that he himself had seen 
him in the garden with him : adding that his very speech 
sufficiently proved that he was a Galilean. Peter, how- 
ever, still denied the fact ; and, to his sin, ratified it not 
only by an oath, but a solemn curse and execration, 
that ^^he was not the person," and that he knew not the 
man." But no sooner had he uttered this denial (which 
was the third time) than the "cock crew;" at which 
his Master turned about, and earnestly looked upon him 
in a manner that pierced him to the heart, and brought 
to his remembrance what his Saviour had more than 
once foretold, namely, that he would basely and shame- 
fully deny him. Peter was now no longer able to contain 
his sorrow : he flew from the palace of the high-priest, 
and "wept bitterly," passionately bewailing his folly, 
and the aggravations of his sin. 

"We have in St. Peter an example for our instruction. 
The opinion of his own strength proved his ruin. So 



ST. PETER. 



511 



dangerous and fatal is it to lean on our own anderstand- 
ings; to be wise, good, and safe, in our own conceit; 
when all our sufficiency, all our safety, is of God. 

It is certain, from various circumstances, that Peter, 
after the crucifixion of his Lord and Master, stayed at 
Jerusalem, or at least in the neighborhood ; for when 
Mary Magdalene returned from the sepulchre to inform 
the disciples that the stone was rolled away from the 
door, and the body not to be found, Peter and John set 
out immediately toward the garden. John, who w^as 
the younger, arrived at the sepulchre first, looked into 
it, but did not enter, either out of fear or reverence to 
our Saviour. Peter came soon after, and resolutely 
w^ent into the sepulchre, where he found the hnen clothes 
lying together in one place, and the napkin that was 
about his head wrapped together in another, a sufficient 
indication that the body was not stolen away ; for had 
that been the case, so much care and order would not 
have been observed in disposing of the linen clothes. 

But Peter did not wait long in suspense, with regard 
to his great Lord and Master ; for the same day Jesus 
appeared to him, to convince him that the crime he had 
been guilty of, in denying him, was pardoned, and that 
he was come, like the good Samaritan, to pour oil into 
the wounded conscience. 

Soon after the apostles prepared to obey the command 
of their great Master, of retiring into Galilee ; and we 
find Peter, Nathaniel, the two sons of Zebedee, and two 
other disciples, fishing in the lake. 

One morning early, having spent the whole night to 
no purpose, they saw on the shore a grave person, w^ho 
called to them, and asked them if they had any meat ? 



512 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



To whicli they answered, No. Cast then, replied he, 
the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. 
They followed his directions, and caught a prodigious 
number of large fish. Astonished at such remarkable 
success, the disciples looked upon one another for some 
time, till St. John told Peter that the person on the 
shore was, doubtless, their great Lord and Master. 

Peter threw himself into the sea, and swam to shore ; 
his impatience to be with his dear Lord and Master not 
suffering him to stay the few minutes necessary to bring 
the ship to land. 

"When their repast was ended, our blessed Saviour 
addressed himself particularly to Peter, urging him to 
the utmost diligence in the care of souls : and because 
he knew that nothing but a sincere love to himself 
could support him under the trouble and dangers of so 
laborious and difficult an employment, he inquired of 
him, whether he loved him more than the rest of the 
apostles : mildly reproving him for his over-confident 
resolution. Peter, whom fatal experience had taught 
humility, modestly answered, that none knew so well 
as Jesus himself the integrity of his affections. Thou 
knowest the hearts of all men, nothing is hid from thee, 
and therefore thou knowest that I love thee. The 
question w^as three several times repeated by our blessed 
Saviour, and as oftentimes answered by the apostle ; it 
being but just, that he, who by a threefold denial had 
given so much reason to question his affection, should now 
by a threefold confession, give more than common assur- 
ance of his sincere love to his Master ; and to each of 
these confessions our great Redeemer added this signal 
trial of his affection, Feed my sheep." Instruct and 



ST. PETER. 



513 



teach them with the utmost care, and the utmost ten- 
derness. 

The blessed Jesus having thus engaged Peter to a 
cheerful compliance with the dangers that might attend 
the discharge of his office, particularly intimated to him 
the fate that would attend him , telling him, that when 
he was young, he girt himself, lived at his pleasure, and 
went wherever his fancy directed him ; but when he 
should reach the term of old age, he should stretch forth 
his hands, and another should gird and bind him, and 
lead him whither he had no desire to go, intimating, as 
the evangelist tells us, by what death he should glorify 
God." 

Not long after, our blessed Saviour appeared to his 
disciples at Jerusalem, to take his last farewell of those 
who had attended him during his public ministry. He 
led them out as far as Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, 
where he briefly told them that they were the persons 
he had chosen to be the witnesses, both of his death and 
resurrection ; a testimony which they should publish id 
every part of the world. In order to which, he would, 
after his ascension into heaven, pour out his Spirit upon 
them in an extraordinary manner, that they might be 
the better enabled to struggle with that violent rage ana 
fury, with which the doctrine of the gospel would be 
opposed by men and devils. Adding that, in the mean- 
time, they should return to Jerusalem, and there wait 
till those miraculous powers were given them from on 
high. 

The apostles, who beheld their Master visibly ascend 
into heaven, were filled with a greater sense of his glory 
than they had ever been while he conversed with them 
33 



514 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



familiarly on the earth. And after solemn adoration to 
him, thej returned to Jerusalem with great joy, there 
to wait for the accomplishment of their great Master's 
promise. How sudden and complete a change was now 
wrought in their minds ! They who were lately over- 
whelmed with sorrow, at the very mention of their 
Lord's departure from them, beheld him now with joy 
and triumph ; they were fully satisfied of his glorious 
advancement to the right hand of Omnipotence, and of 
that peculiar care and providence which they were sure 
he would exercise over them, in pursuance of those 
great trusts he had committed to their care. 

The apostles, though deprived of the personal pres- 
ence of their dear Lord and Master, were indefatigable 
in fulfilling the commission they had received from him. 
The first object that engaged their attention, after their 
return to Jerusalem, was to fill up the vacancy in their 
number lately made by the unhappy fall and apostacy 
of Judas. In order to this, they called together the 
church, and entered into ^^an upper room," when Peter, 
as president of the assembly, proposed to them the 
choice of a new apostle. 

After filling up the vacancy iii the apostolic number, 
they spent their time in prayer and meditation, till the 
feast of Pentecost; when the promise of their great 
Master in sending the Holy Ghost was fulfilled. The 
Christian assembly were met as usual to perform the 
public services of their worship, when suddenly a sound, 
like that of a mighty wind, rushed in upon them ; repre- 
senting the powerful efficacy of that divine Spirit which 
was now to be communicated to them. After which 
there appeared gentle flames of fire, which, in the shape 



ST. PETER. 



515 



of ilov n tongues, descended and sat upon the head of 
ea^'.h of them, to denote that their enjoyment of this 
gift should be constant and perpetual ; and not like the 
prophets of old, who were inspired only at some partic- 
ular times and seasons. Upon this they were all imme- 
diately filled with the Holy Ghost, which, in an instant, 
enabled them to speak fluently several languages they 
had never learned, and probably never heard. 

The report of so sudden and strange an event was 
soon spread through every part of Jerusalem, which at 
that time was full of Jewish proselytes, "devout men 
of every nation under heaven, Parthians, Medes, Elam- 
ites, the dwellers in Mesopotamia and J udea, Cappadocia, 
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, the 
parts of Lybia and Cyrene," from Eome, from Crete, 
and from Arabia. These no sooner heard of this mirac- 
ulous effusion of the Holy Spirit, than they flocked in 
prodigious numbers to the Christian assembly, where 
they were amazed to hear these Galileans speaking to 
them in their own native languages, so various and so 
very difierent from one another. Nor were their dis» 
courses filled with idle stories, or the follies of a luxu- 
riant fancy. No, they expatiated on the great and 
admirable works of Omnipotence, and the mysteries of 
the gospel, which human apprehension could never 
discover. 

This surprising transaction had different efiects on the 
minds of the people ; some attributing it to the effect 
of a miracle, and others, mockingly, to the power and 
strength of "new wine." Upon which the apostles all 
stood up, and Peter, in the name of the rest, undertook 
to confute this injurious calumny. 



516 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



The effect of liis discourse was equally wonderful and 
surprising ; for great numbers of those who before ridi- 
culed the religion of Jesus now acknowledged him for 
their Saviour, and flew to him for refuge from the im- 
pending storm. And St. Luke tells us, that there were 
that day added to the church no less than three thou- 
sand souls, who were all baptized and received into the 
flock of the great Shepherd of Israel, the bishop of our 
souls. A quick and plentiful harvest indeed ! This 
was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." 

Soon after this wonderful conversion, Peter and John, 
going up to the temple about three in the afternoon, one 
of the solemn hours of prayer, saw a poor impotent 
cri^Dple, near forty years of age, who had been lame 
from his birth, lying at the beautiful gate of the tem- 
ple," and asking alms of those who entered the sacred 
edifice. This miserable object moved their compassion ; 
and Peter, beholding him with attention, said : The 
riches of this world, the silver and gold, so highly cov- 
eted by the sons of men, are not in my power to bestow ; 
but I possess the gift of restoring life and health, in 
the name of Jesus Christ, and am ready to assist thee. 
And, thus saying, he healed him. 

Peter, seeing the multitude gathering around them, 
took the opportunity of speaking to them in the follow- 
ing manner : Men and brethren, this remarkable cure 
should not excite your admiration of us, as if we had 
performed it by our own power. It was wrought in ilie 
name of Jesus of Nazareth, our crucified Master — by 
the power of that very Christ, that holy and just person, 
whom you yourselves denied, and delivered to Pilate ; 
nay, and preferred a murderer before him, when the 



ST. PETER. 



517 



governor was desirous of letting him go. But though you 
have put him to death, yet we are witnesses that He 
hath raised him again from the dead, and that he is 
ascended into heaven, where he will remain till the 
great and tremendous day of general restitution." 

While Peter was speaking to the people in one part 
of the temple, John was, in all probability, doing the 
same in the other. And the success plainly indicated 
how powerful the preaching of the apostles was — five 
thousand persons embracing the doctrines of the gospel, 
and acknowledging the crucified Jesus for their Lord 
and Saviour. 

Such amazing success could not fail of exciting the 
attention and envy of the rulers of Israel. Upon their 
information, the captain of the temple seized on the 
apostles and cast them into prison. 

The next day they were carried before the Jewish 
Sanhedrim ; and being asked by what power and au- 
thority they had done this, Peter boldly answered : 

Be it known unto you, and to all, that this miracle 
was wrought wholly in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, 
whom ye yourselves have crucified and slain, and whom 
the Almighty hath raised again from the dead. This 
is the stone which you builders refused, and which is 
become the head of the corner. Nor is there any other 
way by which you, or any of the sons of men can be 
saved, but by this crucified Saviour." 

The boldness of the apostle was admired by all, even 
by the court of the Sanhedrin. And it should be re- 
membered, that these very judges were the persons who had 
so lately condemned the blessed Jesus himself, and had no 
other way of coloring their proceedings than by a second 



518 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



act ol cruelty ; that the apostles did not chaige them 
with the crime of crucifying the Son of God in secret, 
but in the open court of Judicature, and in the hearing 
of all the people. 

The labors of the apostles were crowned with abun- 
dant success ; and it seems that such was the aversion 
of the inveterate Jews to those who became converts to 
the faith of Christ, that they were deprived of business 
in their respective callings. For w^e find that the pro- 
fessors of the religion of the holy Jesus sold their 
eifects, and brought the money to the apostles, that 
they might deposit it in one common treasury, and from 
thence supply the several exigencies of the church. 

But hypocrisy was not unknown among the profes- 
sors of religion, even in these primitive times. Ananias, 
and his wife Sapphira, being detected by Peter, fell 
dead at the apostle's feet, a divine warning to others. 

But such instances of severity were very extraordi- 
nary : the power of the apostles was generally exerted 
in works of mercy and beneficence toward the sons and 
daughters of affliction. They cured all kinds of diseases, 
and cast out devils ; so that they brought the sick into 
the streets, and laid them upon beds and couches, that 
the shadow at least of Peter, as he passed by, might 
cover some of them; well knowing a single touch or 
word, from either of the apostles, was sufficient to remove 
the most inveterate diseases. 

The Christian doctrine had been propagated hitherto 
without much violence or opposition, in Jerusalem, but 
now a storm commenced with the death of the proto- 
martyr Stephen, nor did it end bat with the dispersion 
of the disciples, by which means the glad tidings which 



ST. PETER. 



519 



had till now been confined to J udea, was preached to the 
Gentile world, and an ancient prophecy fulfilled, which 
says, Out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word 
of the Lord from Jerusalem." Thus does the Almighty 
bring good out of evil, and cause the malicious intentions 
of the wicked to redound to his praise. 

The storm, though violent, being at length blown 
over, the church enjoyed a time of calmness and secu- 
rity ; during which, St Peter went to visit the churches 
lately planted in those parts, by the disciples whom the 
persecution had dispersed. And at his arrival at Lydda,* 
he miraculously healed ^neas, who had been affiicted 
with the palsy, and confined to his bed eight years. Nor 
was the success of his miracle confined to ^neas and his 
family ; the fame of it was blazed through all the neigh- 
boring country, and many believed in the doctrine of 
the Son of God. It was even known at Joppa,f a sea- 
port town about six miles from Lydda, and the brethren 
immediately sent for Peter, on the following melancholy 
occasion : Tabitha, whose Greek name was Dorcas, a 
woman venerable for her piety and extensive charity, 
was lately dead. 

At Peter's arrival he found her dressed for funeral 

* Lydda was a village, or rather city, according to Josephus, situated in 
the plain of Sharon, on the ancient road from Jerusalem to Caesarea, some 
miles northeast of Kamleh. 

t Joppa (the modern Jaffa) was the principal seaport of Judea until the 
time of Herod the Great; who built a magnificent harbor and cit}'- at 
Strato's Tower, and named it Caesarea, in honor of Augustiis Caesar. 
Joppa i-s a city of great importance, often mentioned in the New Testa- 
ment, and is built on a promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean 
eea. Its situation is quite picturesque. It is now, as of old, the port of 
Jerusalem, thirty-five miles to the northwest, and is about to be connected 
with that city by a railroad. 



520 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



solemnity, and surrounded by mournful widows, who 
showed the coats and garments wherewith she had 
clothed them, the monuments of her liberality. But 
Peter put them all out, and kneeling down, prayed with 
the utmost fervency ; then turning to the body, he com- 
manded her to arise, and taking her by the hand, pre- 
sented her in perfect health to her friends and others, 
who were assembled to pay their last duties to so good 
a woman. This miracle confirmed those who had newly 
embraced the doctrine of Jesus, and converted many 
more to the faith. After which he stayed a considerable 
time at Joppa, lodging in the house of one Simon, a 
tanner. 

It was here that Peter had the remarkable vision and 
the divine message, which summoned him to Csesarea,* 
to open the door of faith to the Gentiles," in the house 
of Cornelius the Roman centurion. Acts x. 1, etc. 

Peter, after having finished his visitation to the new 
planted churches, returned to Jerusalem, and was inde- 
fatigable in instructing the converts in the religion of 
Jesus, and preaching the glad tidings of salvation to the 
descendants of Jacob. But he did not long continue in 
this pleasing course. Herod Agrippa,-j- in order to ingra- 

^' Oaesarea, the civil capital of Judea at this time, was about thirty 
miles north of Joppa, on the Mediterranean. Its inhabitants were chieiBly 
Greeks. It was the most splendid and populous city in Palestine, and 
the residence of the Roman governor. See the preceding note. Now it 
i% a mass of ruins, infested by serpents and beasts of prey. 

t Herod Agrippa I. was the grandson of Herod the Great, and had but 
recently been invested by Claudius Caesar with the sovereignty of Judea, 
in addition to Galilee, Samaria, and Perea, A. D. 43. He lived but a 
short time after this. In the midst of his pomp at C^sarea, the angel 
of the Lord smote him, and the first royal persecutor of the Church of 
Christ " was eaten of worms and died." A. D. 44. 



ST. PETER. 



521 



tiate himself into the favor of the Jews, put the apostle 
James to death, and finding the action was highly accept- 
able to that stiff-necked people, he resolved to extend his 
cruelty to Peter, and accordingly cast him into prison. 
But the churches were incessant in their prayers to God 
for his safety, and his great and beloved Master sent a 
messenger from above, and released him from prison. 
He therefore repaired to the house of Mary, where the 
church was assembled, and offering up their prayers to 
the throne of grace for his safety. On his knocking at 
the door, a maid who came to let him in, knowing his 
voice, ran back to tell them that Peter was at the door ; 
which they at first considered as the effect of fancy. 
But, on opening the door they were convinced of their 
mistake, finding that it was really Peter himself, who 
briefly told them how he was delivered ; and desiring 
them to inform his brethren of his being set at liberty, 
retired to another place. 

In the morning the of&cers came from Herod to the 
prison, with orders to bring Peter out to the people, who 
were gathered together to behold his execution. But 
when they came to the prison, the keepers informed 
them that the apostle had made his escape ; which so 
exasperated Herod, that he commanded those who were 
entrusted with the care of the prisoner to be put to 
death. 

As we have now related the principal transactions of 
this apostle, that are founded on Scripture authority, 
we shall have recourse to ancient historians for the resi- 
due of his life. 

St. Peter had preached the gospel in various parts of 
the world, enlarging the kingdom of his great Master, 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



and spreading tlie glad tidings of salvation amjng the 
inhabitants of various countries ; and among the rest 
those of Babylon in the East, where he wrote his first 
epistle, and in the West, to Kome, then the mistress of 
the world. 

Toward the latter end of the reign of Nero, when 
Peter was in Eome, orders were given by that emperor 
for apprehending him, together with his companion 
Paul. 

Ambrose tells us, that when the people perceived the 
danger to which St. Peter was now exposed, they prayed 
him to quit Rome, and repair for a while to some secure 
retreat, that his life might be preserved for the benefit 
of the church. Peter, with great reluctance, yielded to 
their entreaties, and made his escape by night ; but as 
he passed the gate, he was met by a person in the form 
of his great and beloved Master, and on his asking him 
whither he was going, answered, " To Rome, to be cru- 
crified a second time :" which Peter taking for a reproof 
of his (jowardice, returned again into the city, and was 
soon after apprehended, and cast, together with St. Paul, 
into the Mamertime prison. Here they were confined 
eight or nine months ; but spent their time in the exer- 
cise of religion, especially in preaching to the prisoners, 
and those who resorted to them. And during this con- 
finement, it is generally thought, St. Peter wrote the 
second epistle to the dispersed Jews, wherein he endeav- 
ors to confirm them in the belief and practice of Christi- 
anity, and to fortify them against those poisonous and 
pernicious principles and actions which even then began 
to break in upon the Christian church. 

Nero at last returning from Achaia, entered Rome in 



ST. PAUL. 



523 



triumph ; and soon after his arrival, resolved that the 
apostles should fall as victims and sacrifices to his cruel- 
ties and revenge. Accordingly they were both con- 
demned by the cruel emperor of Kome : and St. Peter 
having taken his farewell of the brethren, especially of 
St. Paul, was taken from the prison and led to the top 
of the Vatican mount, near the Tiber, where he was 
sentenced to surrender up his life on the cross. 

At his coming to the place of execution, he begged 
the favor of the officers, that he might not be crucified 
in the common manner, but with his head downward ; 
affirming that he was unworthy to sufier in the same 
posture in which his Lord had sufiered before him. This 
request was accordingly complied with ; and the great 
apostle St. Peter surrendered up his soul into the hands 
of his great and beneficent Master, who came down 
from heaven to ransom mankind from destruction, and 
open for them the gates of the heavenly Canaan. 

His body, being taken down from the cross, is said to 
have been embalmed by Mercellimus, the presbyter, 
after the manner of the Jews, and then buried in the 
Vatican, near the Appian way, two miles from Kome. 



ST. PAUL. 

This great apostle of the Gentiles was a descendant 
from the ancient stock of Abraham. lie belonged to 
the tribe of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob. Tarsus, 
the place of his nativity, was the metropolis of Cilicia, 



524 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



and situated about three hundred miles distant from 
Jerusalem 3 it was exceedingly rich and populous, and 
a Eoman municipium, or free corporation, invested with 
the privileges of Kome by the two first emperors, as a 
reward for the citizens' firm adherence to the Cgesars in 
the rebellion of Crassus. St. Paul was therefore born a 
Roman citizen, and he often pleads this privilege on his 
trials. 

It was common for the wealthy Jews of Tarsus to send 
their children into other cities for learning and improve- 
ment ; especially to Jerusalem, where they were so nu- 
merous, that they had a synagogue of their own, called 
the synagogue of the Cilicians. To this capital our 
apostle was also sent, and brought up at the school of 
that eminent rabbi, Gamaliel, in the most exact know- 
ledge of the law of Moses. Nor did he fail to profit by 
the instructions of that great master; for he so dili- 
gently conformed himself to the precepts, that, without 
boasting, he asserts of himself, that touching the righte- 
ousness of the law he was blameless, and defied even his 
enemies to allege any thing to the contrary, even in his 
youth. He joined himself to the sect of the Pharisees, 
the most strict order of the Jewish religion, but, at the 
same time, the proudest, and the greatest enemies to 
Christ and his holy religion. 

With regard to his double capacity, of Jewish extrac- 
tion and Roman freedom, he had two names, Saul and 
Paul ; the former Hebrew, and the latter Latin. We 
must also consider his trade of tent-making as a part of 
his education ; it being a constant practice of the Jews 
to bring up their children to some honest calling, that, 



ST. PAUL. 



525 



in case of necessity, tliey might provide for themselves 
by the labor of their own hands. 

Saul having obtained a thorough knowledge of the 
sciences cultivated by the Jews, and being naturally of a 
very hot and fiery temper, became a great champion of 
the law of Moses, and the tradition of the elders, which 
he considered as zeal for God. 

This rendered him impatient of all opposition to the 
doctrines and tenets he had imbibed, and a vehement 
blasphemer and persecutor of the Christians, who were 
commonly reputed the enemies and destroyers of the 
Jewish economy. 

The first action we find him engaged in, was the dis- 
putation he and his countrymen had with the martyr 
Stephen, with regard to the Messiah. The Christian 
was too hard for them in the dispute : but they were 
too powerful for him in their civil interests : for being 
enraged at his convincing arguments, they carried him 
before the high-priest, who by false accusations con- 
demned him to death. How far Saul was concerned in 
this cruel action, it is impossible to say ; all we know is, 
that he " kept the raiment of them that slew him." 

The storm of persecution against the church being 
thus begun, it increased prodigiously, and the poor 
Christians of Jerusalem were miserably harassed and 
dispersed. In this persecution our apostle was a princi- 
pal agent, searching all the adjacent parts for the 
afflicted saints, beating some in the synagogue, inflicting 
other cruelties, confining some in prison, and procuring 
others to be put to death. 

But it was the will of Providence he should be em- 
ployed in a ^rork of a very different nature. For as he 



526 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



was travelling to Damascus,* to execute the commission 
of the J ewish Sanhedrim, a refulgent light, far exceeding 
the brightness of the sun, darted upon him ; at which 
both he and his companions were terribly amazed and 
confounded, and immediately fell prostrate on the ground. 
While they lay in this state, a voice was heard, in the 
Hebrew language, saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
thou me ?" To which Saul replied, Who art thou. 
Lord ?" And was immediately answered, I am Jesus, 
whom thou persecutest : It is hard for thee to kick 
against the pricks." As if the blessed Jesus had said, 
'^All thy attempts to extirpate the faith in me will prove 
abortive ; and, like kicking against the spikes, wound and 
torment thyself." 

Saul, convinced of his folly in having acted against 
Jesus, whom he was now assured to be the true Mes- 

* Damascus, the capital of lower Syria, is perhaps the oldest city in the 
world (Gen. xiv. 15), and most beautifully situated, one hundred and forty 
miles northeast of Jerusalem, in a fertile plain, southeast of the eastern 
range of Lebanon. Its situation has always commanded an immense 
trade, and even now it contains one hundred and fifty thousand inhabi- 
tants. It is watered by two perennial streams, the Barada on the north, 
and the Awig on the south — the Abana and Pharpar, so dear to Naaman ; 
so that, for a circuit of fifty miles around, the country blooms like the 
garden of Eden. 

Damascus has passed through many political changes. It was gov- 
erned by its own kings till the time of David, who conquered it and made 
it a part of his great empire. It was inherited by Solomon, but lost by 
him. It was recovered by Jeroboam II. to Israel. It fell successively 
into the hands of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and 
Eomans ; but was for a short time taken from the Romans by Aretas^ 
king of Arabia, and held by him during Paul's second visit. The Jews 
were very numerous in Damascus, and Christianity early found a footing 
among them, about A. D. 35. To crush it was the purpose of Saul of 
Tarsus at this time ; to defend, confirm, and diffuse it by his conversion 
was the will of God. 



ST. PAUL. 



527 



siah, asked, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" 
On which the blessed Jesus replied, Arise, and go 
into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou 
must do." 

In the meantime our blessed Saviour appeared in a 
vision to Ananias, a very devout and religious man, 
highly esteemed by all the inhabitants of Damascus. 
'^And the Lord said unto him. Arise, and go into the 
street, which is called Straight,* and inquire in the 
house of Judas, for one called Saul, of Tarsus : for 
behold he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man 
named Ananias, coming in and putting his hand on 
him, that he might receive his sight." 

Ananias, who was ever ready to obey the commands 
of the Most High, startled at the name, having heard 
of the bloody practices of Saul at Jerusalem, and what 
commission he was now come to execute in Damascus. 
He, therefore, suspected that his conversion was nothing 
more than a snare artfully laid by him against the 
Christians. But our blessed Saviour soon removed his 
apprehensions, by telling him that his suspicions were 
entirely destitute of foundation ; and that he had now 
taken him, as a chosen vessel, to preach the gospel both 
to the Jews and Gentiles, and even before the greatest 
monarchs of the earth. At the same time he acquainted 
him with the great persecutions Paul should undergo 
for the sake of the gospel : For I will show him how 
great things he must suiOfer for my name's sake." 

This quieted the fears of Ananias, who immediately 
repaired to the house of Judas, and, laying his hands 



* This street, which runs through the city from east to west in a 
straight line, is still called by the same name. 



528 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



upon Saul, addressed him in words to this effect : — 
"That Jesus," said he, ^^who appeared to thee in the 
way, hath sent me to restore thy sight, and by the in- 
fusion of his Spirit to give thee the knowledge of those 
truths which thou hast blindly and ignorantly persecuted." 

This speech was no sooner pronounced, than there 
fell from his eyes thick films, resembling scales, and he 
received his sight ; and. after baptism, conversed with 
the Christians at Damascus. He also, to their great aston- 
ishment, preached the gospel, boldly asserting, 'Hhat 
Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God ;" and proving it 
to the Jews with such demonstrative evidence, that they 
were confounded, and finding it impossible to answer 
him, attempted to kill him. 

The miraculous convert, at the instance of the divine 
command, retired into Arabia, where he received a full 
revelation of all the mysteries of Christianity ; for he 
himself declares that he conferred not with flesh and 
blood. Having preached in several parts of that country 
some time, he returned again to Damascus, applying 
himself, with the utmost assiduity, to the great work of 
the ministry, frequenting the synagogues there, power- 
fully confuting the objections commonly made against 
Jesus of Nazareth, and converting great numbers of J ews 
and Gentiles. 

This irritated the Jews to the highest degree ; and at 
length they found means to prevail on the governor of 
Damascus* to have him put to death. 

In this distress, his Christian friends, finding it impos- 
sible for him to pass through either of the gates of the 
city, let him down from one of their houses, through a 

* Under Aretas, king of Arabia, a friend of the Jews. 



ST. PAUL. 



529 



window, in a basket, over the wall, by which means 
the cruel designs of his enemies were rendered abortive. 

Having thus escaped from his malicious persecutors, 
he repaired to Jerusalem, and, on his arrival, addressed 
himself to the church. But they, knowing well the 
former temper and principles of this great persecutor, 
shunned his company, till Barnabas brought him to 
Peter and to James, informing them of his miraculous 
conversion, and that he had preached the gospel with 
the greatest boldness in the synagogues of Damascus ; 
upon which they gladly received him, and familiarly 
entertained him fifteen days. 

During this interval, he was remarkably assiduous in 
preaching the gospel of the Son of God, and confuting 
the Hellenist Jew^s* with the greatest courage and reso- 
lution. But snares were laid for him, as malice can as 
easily cease to be, as to remain inactive. Being warned 
by God, in a vision, that his testimony would not be 
received at J erusalem, he thought proper to depart, and 
preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Accordingly, being 
conducted by his brethren to Cassarea, he set sail 
for Tarsus, his native city ; from whence he was soon 
after brought, by Barnabas, to Antioch, in Syria,f to 

^ The Hellenist Jews were those who habitually spoke the Greek lan- 
guage. They are called Grecians in Acts vi. 1, in distinction from tlie 
Hebrews, i. e., those who used only the Aramaean or later Plebrew. The 
Hellenists had many synagogues in Jerusalem, among whom Stephen had 
labored, and Paul had then resisted him, being himself a Hellenist Jew, 
He was now most anxious to convince them of the truth he had once 
opposed. 

t Antioch, the metropolis of Syria under the Romans, was one of the 
most populous and splendid cities of the empire. It ranked next to Eome 
and Alexandria. It was founded by the Syro-Grecian kings, on the 
southern bank of the 0 routes, eighteen miles from its mouth, and cod- 
34 



530 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



assist liim in propagating Christianity in that city. In 
this employment he spent one whole year, and had the 
satisfaction of seeing the gospel flourish in a very re- 
markable manner. 

It was in Antioch that the disciples first acquired the 
name of Christians, before which they were styled Naz- 
arenes ; but this appellation soon prevailed all over the 
world ; and the latter was in a few ages almost entirelj^ 
forgotten. It was in this city, also, the first mission to 
the heathen world was established by the Holy Ghost, 
and Barnabas and Paul sent out as the first missionaries. 

The first place visited by Barnabas and Paul was 
Seleucia,* where they did not continue long, but sailed 
for Cj^rus and at Salamis, a great city in that island, 

tallied at this time perhaps half a million inhabitants, chiefly Greeks; 
aboimding in wealth, intellectual culture, and refinement, combined with 
every form of heathen licentiousness and corruption. Yet here grew up, 
under the labors of Barnabus, Paul, and others, the most vigorous and 
generous church of primitive times. By the Roman coast road, it was 
over four hundred miles north of Jerusalem. 

* Seleucia, at the mouth of the river 0 routes, was the seaport of 
Antioch, being eighteen miles distant. The ruins of its harbor now re- 
mam to attest its ancient greatness. It was on the west side of the river, 
and fronted the lofty heights of Mount Casius, 

i Cyprus was a large and beautiful island lying in the Mediterranean 
sea, about fifty miles south of the Cilician coast. In a clear sky the 
highlands of Cyprus are visible from the port of Seleucia. It was the 
birthplace of Barnabas. The island was one hundred and forty miles in 
length, by about fifty in breadth, half as large as all Palestine, fruitful, 
healthful, and populous. But it was dedicated to Venus, and its heathen 
inhabitants were plunged in debauchery and vice. 

The Christian missionaries landed at Salamis, a seaport on the south- 
eastern extremity of the island, and thence travelled, probably, through 
the great central valley road, to Paphos, the capital, on the northwestern 
extremity. Here was the residence of the Roman Proconsul. Here also 
■was the celebrated temple of the Paphian Venus. But here Christianity 
won its crowning victory — in the conversion of the governor. 



ST. PAUL. 



531 



they preached in the synagogue of the Jews. From 
thence they removed to Paphos^ the residence of Ser- 
gius Paulus, the Proconsul of the island, a man of great 
wisdom and prudence, and made him a convert to the 
faith. 

St. Paul, after this remarkable success in Cyprus, 
repaired to Perga, in Pamphylia,* and taking another 
with him, in the room of Mark, who was gone to Jeru- 
salem, travelled to Antioch, the metropolis of Pisidia,f 
where they preached with great success. 

From Antioch, in Pisidia, they went to Iconium, J the 
metropolis of Lycaonia, where they entered into the 
synagogue of the Jews, notwithstanding the ill-treat- 
ment they had met with from the Jews in other places. 
Driven at length from thence, they went to Lystra, 
another city of Lycaonia, on the coast, where they 
preached the gospel. 

Among the converts at Lystra, was a man who had 
been lame from his mother's womb, and never had 
walked. But Paul, perceiving that he had faith to be 

* Perga, the capital of western Pamphylia, was situated on the river 
Oestrus, some distance from the coast. It was famous for a temple to 
Diana. Here the Christian missionaries passed up the valley of the 
Oestrus to the central uplands of Asia Minor. The region was rough 
and dangerous, abounding in swollen streams and the haunts of robbers. 
As they ascended to Pisidia on the north, the province of Cilicia was on 
the right and Lycia on the left. 

t Pisidia was a province in the mountain range of Taurus, consisting 
of high table land. It lay between Phrygia and Lycaonia. 

X Iconium was then one of the largest and most opulent cities of Asia 
Minor. It is in a fertile plain, one hundred and thirty miles north of the 
sea, and two hundred and sixty east of Constantinople. Many Jews re- 
st)rted thither for trade, and established their synagogues. 



532 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



saved, thought proper to add the cure of his body to 
that of his soul. 

But the malice of the Jews still pursued them ; for 
some of these bigoted Israelites coming from Antioch 
and Iconium, exasperated and stirred up the multitude ; 
so that those very persons who could hardly be restrained 
from offering sacrifice to them, now used them like slaves, 
stoning them in so cruel a manner that Paul was thought 
to be dead ; and as such they dragged him out of the 
city ; but while the Christians of Lystra were attending 
on his body, probably in order to carry him to the grave, 
he arose, and returned with them into the city, and the 
next day departed with Barnabas to Derbe, where they 
preached the gospel, and converted many ; no danger 
being able to terrify them from publishing the glad 
tidings of salvation in every place. 

They did not, however, long continue at Derbe, but 
returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, Pisidia, con- 
firming the Christians of those places in the faith, ear- 
nestly persuading them to persevere, and not to be dis- 
couraged with those troubles and persecutions, which 
they must expect would attend the profession of the 
gospel. And that the affairs of the church might be 
conducted with more regularity, they ordained elders and 
pastors, to teach, to instruct, and to watch over them ; 
and then left them to the protection of the Almighty, to 
whose care they recommended them by prayer and 
fasting. 

After leaving Antioch, they passed through Pisidia, 
and came to Pamphylia ; and after preaching the gospel 
at Perga, they went down to Attalia, a seaport on the 
coast of Pamphylia. 



ST. PAUL. 



533 



Having thus finished the circuit of their ministry, 
they returned back to Antioch, in Syria, from whence 
they at first departed. Here they summoned the church, 
and gave them an account of their ministry, the success 
it had met in different parts, and how great a door had 
thus been opened for the conversion of the Gentile 
world. 

The controversy concerning the observation of Jewish 
ceremonies in the Christian church, being decided in 
favor of St. Paul, he and his companions returned back 
to Antioch; and soon after Peter himself came down. 
On reading the decretal epistle in the church, the 
converts conversed freely and inofiensively with the 
Gentiles, till some of the Jews coming thither from Jeru- 
salem, Peter withdrew his conversation, as if it had been 
a thing unwarrantable and unlawful. By such a strange 
method of proceeding, the minds of many were dissatis- 
fied, and their consciences very uneasy. St. Paul, with 
the greatest concern, observed it, and publicly rebuked 
Peter, with that faithfulness and severity his unwarranta^ 
ble practice deserved, and with mo^t happy efiect. 

Soon after this event, Paul and Barnabas resolved 
to visit the churches they had planted among the Gen- 
tiles, and Barnabas was desirous of taking with them 
his nephew Mark ; but this Paul strenuously opposed, as » 
he had left them in their former journey. This trifling 
dispute arose to such a height, that these two great 
apostles and fellow-laborers in the gospel parted : Barna- 
bas taking Mark with him, repaired to Cyprus, his na- 
tive country, and Paul having made choice of Silas, and 
being recommended by the church to the care of divine 
Providence, set forward on his intended journey. 



534 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



They first visited the churches of Syria and Cilicia, 
confirming the people in the faith, by their instructions 
and exhortations. Hence they sailed to Crete,* where 
Paul preached the gospel. From hence Paul and Silas 
returned back to Cilicia, and came to Lystra, where they 
found Timothy, whose father was a Greek, but his 
mother a Jewish convert, under all the advantages of a 
pious and religious education, especially with regard to 
the Holy Scriptures. This person St. Paul designed for 
the companion of his travels, and a special instrument 
in the ministry of the gospel. But knowing that his 
being uncircumcised would prove a stumbling-block to 
the Jews, he caused him to be circumcised; being will- 
ing, in lawful and indifferent matters, to conform him- 
self to the tempers and apprehensions of men, in order 
to save their souls. 

St. Paul and his companions departed from Lystra, 
passed through Phrygia, and the country of Galatia, 
where the apostle was entertained with the greatest 
kindness and veneration, the people looking upon him 
as an angel sent immediately from heaven ; and being 
by revelation forbidden to go into Asia,f he was com- 
manded by a second vision to repair to Macedonia, to 

* Crete (now called Candia) is a large island in the Mediterranean, 
directly south of the JEgean sea. It is larger than Cyprus. It was prob- 
ably settled by a colony from Egypt, but in the time of the apostles was 
almost wholly Greek. They bore a very bad name for lying, gluttony, and 
brutality. It once contained over a million of inhabitants, and abounded 
in the riches of nature and art. Homer celebrates it for its hundred 
cities. Its highest mountain, Ida, is seven thousand feet high. 

t Asia here denotes that southwestern province of Asia Minor, of which 
Ephesus was the capital. It was settled by Greeks, and was distinguished 
as Proconsular Asia. 



ST. PAUL. 



535 



preach the gospeL Accordingly our apostle prepared at 
Troas* to pass from Asia into Europe. 

Here St. Luke joined them, and became, ever after, 
the inseparable companion of St. Paul, who being desi- 
rous of finding the speediest passage into Macedonia, took 
ship with his companions, Silas, Luke, and Timothy, 
and came to Samothracia, an island in the ^gean sea, 
not far from Thrace ; and the next day he went to Nea- 
polis, a port of Macedonia. Leaving Neapolis, they 
repaired to Philippi, the metropolis of that part of Mace- 
donia, and a Eoman colony, where they stayed some 
days. 

In this city, Paul, according to his constant practice, 
preached in a proseucha, or oratory of the Jews, which 
stood by the river side, at some distance from the city, 
and was much frequented by the devout women of their 
religion, who met there to pray, and hear the law.f 
And after several days, as they were repairing to the 
same place of devotion, there met them a damsel who 
possessed a spirit of divination, by whom her masters 
acquired very great advantage. This woman followed 
Paul and his companions, crying out, "These men are 
the servants of the most high God, which show unto us 

* Troas, south of the Hellespont, on the eastern shore of the iEgean 
sea, was a maritime city in the province of Mysia, north of Proconsular 
Asia. It was named after the ancient Troy of Homeric song, and built 
up by the Greeks and Komans. 

t Philippi lay in a spacious plain, ten miles northwest from Neapolis, 
which was its seaport. The plain was well watered by streams, of which 
the one nearest the city was the Gangas ; the Strymon, on the western 
side, being more remote. 

The Jews were too few in the city to build a synagogue, but they built 
a proseuche, or place of prayer, by the river side, for the sake of their 
ablutions. 



536 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



the way of salvation !" Paul, at first, took no notice of 
her, not being willing to multiply miracles without ne- 
cessity. But when he saw her following them several 
days together, he commanded the spirit, in the name of 
Jesus, to come out of her. The evil spirit with reluc- 
tance obeyed, and left the damsel that very instant. * 

This miraculous cure proving a great loss to her 
masters, who acquired large gains from her soothsaying, 
they were filled with envy and malice against the apos- 
tles ; and, by their instigation, the multitude arose and 
seized upon Paul and his companions, hurried them be- 
fore the Roman magistrates ; accusing them of intro- 
ducing many innovations which were prejudicial to the 
state, and unlawful for them to comply with, as being 
Romans. 

The magistrates, being concerned for the tranquillity 
of the state, and jealous of all disturbances, were very 
forward to punish the offenders, against whom great 
numbers of the multitude testified ; and therefore com- 
manded the officers to strip them, and scourge them 
severely, as seditious persons. 

This was accordingly executed ; after which the apos- 
iles were committed to close custody, the jailer receiving 
more than ordinary charge to keep them safely; and he 
accordingly thrust them into the inner prison, and made 
their feet fast in the stocks. But the most obscure dun- 
geon, or the pitchy mantle of the night, cannot intercept 
the beams of divine joy and comfort from the souls of 
pious men. Their minds were all serenity ; and at mid- 

* Christ refused testimony from evil spirits, because he would not have 
his holy cause thus brought into disrepute. Paul acted, in this case, 
upon the same principle. 



ST. PAUL. 



537 



night they prayed an\i sang praises so loud, that tl ey 
were heard in every part of the prison. Nor were their 
prayers offered to the throne of grace in vain : an earth- 
quake shook the foundations of the prison, opened the 
doors, loosed the chains, and set the prisoners at liberty. 

This convulsion of nature roused the jailer from his 
sleep, and concluding from what he saw that all his pris- 
oners were escaped, he was going to put a period to his 
life ; but Paul observing him, hastily cried, Do thyself 
no harm, for we are all here." The keeper was now as 
greatly surprised at the goodness of the apostles, as he 
was before terrified at the thoughts of their escape : and 
calling for a light, he came immediately into the pres- 
ence of the apostles, fell down at their feet, and took 
them from the dungeon, brought them to his own house, 
washed their stripes, and begged of them to instruct him 
in the knowledge of that God who was so mighty to 
save. 

St. Paul readily granted his request, and replied, 
That, if he believed in Jesus Christ, he might be saved 
with his whole house; accordingly, the jailer, with all 
his family, were, after a competent instruction, baptized, 
and received as members of the church of Christ. 

As soon as it was day, the magistrates, either hearing 
what had happened, or reflecting on what they had 
done as too harsh and unjustifiable, sent their sergeant 
to the jailer, with orders to discharge the apostles. -The 
jailer joyfully delivered the message, and bid them " de- 
part in peace but Paul, that he might make the magis- 
trates sensible what injury they had done them, and 
how unjustly they had punished them, without examina- 
tion or trial, sent them word, that, as they thought 



538 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



proper to scourge and imprison Komans, contrary to tlie 
laws of the empire, he expected they should come them- 
selves and make them some satisfaction. 

The magistrates were terrified at this message. They 
came therefore to the prison, and very submissively en- 
treated the apostles to depart without any further dis- 
turbance. 

This small recompense for the cruel usage they had 
received, was accepted by the meek followers of the 
blessed Jesus. They left the prison, and retired to the 
house of Lydia, where they comforted their brethren 
with an account of their deliverance, and departed, 
having laid the foundation of a very eminent church, 
as it appears from St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians. 

Leaving Philippi, Paul and his companions continued 
their journey toward the west till they came to Thessa- 
lonica, the metropolis of Macedonia, about a hundred 
and twenty miles from Philippi.* On their arrival at 
Thessalonica, Paul, according to his custom, went into 
the synagogue of the Jews, and preached unto his 
countrymen. His doctrine, however, was strenuously 
opposed by the Jews, who would not allow Jesus to be 
the Messiah, because of his ignominious death. 

Accordingly, they gathered together a great number 
of lewd and wicked wretches, intending to take Paul, 

* Thessalonica, the metropolis of Macedonia, rises majestically from 
the sea, and is still one of the greatest maritime cities on the JEgean, with 
a population of seventy thousand souls. It is now called Salonica, an 
abridgment of its former name. It is situated at the head of the Ther- 
mean Gulf. It flourished greatly under the Eomans. and the church here 
planted by the apostle became a centre of light to distant cities, and a 
generous contributor to the wants of the saints in Judea. Two epistles 
of Paul were written to this church, A. D. 52. 



ST. PAUL. 



539 



and deliver him up to an incensed multitude. But in 
this they were disappointed ; Paul and Silas being 
removed from thence by the Christians, and concealed 
in some other part of the city and finally sent away by 
night to Bersea, a city about fifty miles south of Thes- 
salonica, but out of the power of their enemies. These 
Jews were of a more ingenuous and candid temper than 
those of Thessalonica ; and as they heard him, with 
great reverence and attention, expound and apply the 
Scriptures, so they searched diligently, whether his 
proofs were proper and pertinent, and consonant to the 
sense of the texts he referred to : and having found 
every thing to be agreeable to what Paul had advanced, 
many of them believed ; and several Gentiles, following 
their example, became obedient to the faith, among 
whom weie several women of quality. The news of 
this remarkable success was carried to Thessalonica, 
and greatly incensed the inveterate enemies of the 
gospel there, who accordingly repaired to Beraea, and 
raised tumults against the apostle : so that Paul, to 
avoid their fury, was forced to leave the town ; but 
Silas and Timothy, either less known or less envied, 
continued still there. 

Paul, leaving Bersea, under the conduct of certain 
guides, it was said he designed to retire by sea out of 
Greece, that his restless enemies might cease their perse- 
cution ; but the guides, according to Paul's order, 
brought him to Athens,* and left him after receiving 

* Athens, the chief city of Attica, and " the eye of Greece," was situ- 
ated on the Saronic Gulf, five miles from the sea, on a plain gently sloping 
to the southwest. Renowned alike for commerce, arms, arts, letters, 
philosophy ; its colonies and its fame filled the ancient world. Its great 



540 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



from him an order for Silas and Timotheus to repair to 
him as soon as possible. 

While St. Paul continued at Athens, expecting the 
arrival of Silas and Timothy, he walked up and down, 
to take a more accurate survey of the city, which he 
found miserably overrun with superstition and idolatry. 

Their superstitious practices grieved the spirit of the 
apostle ; accordingly, he exerted all his strength for 
their conversion ; he disputed on the sabbath days in 
the synagogues of the Jews, and at other times took all 
opportunities of preaching to the Athenians the coming 
of the Messiah to save the world. 

This doctrine was equally new and strange to the 
Athenians ; and though they did not persecute him as 
the Jews did, yet his preaching Jesus was considered by 
the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers f as a fabulous 
legend, and by the more sober part as a discovery of 
some new gods, which they had not yet placed in their 
temples : and though they were not unwilling to receive 
any new deities, yet as the Areopagus, the supreme 



names are immortal, but it was ignorant of the true God, and overrun 
with idolatry. Athens was called " the City of Minerva," and the famous 
Parthenon was dedicated to her glory. 

t The two most celebrated sects of Athenian philosophers were the 
Stoics and Epicureans. The former were the followers of Zeno, and their 
doctrine was that a wise man should be indifferent alike to good and evil ; that 
all things are subject to fate, even the gods ; that pain is no evil ; and that 
a man who proudly bears all the trials of life without flinching is superior 
to the gods themselves. They admitted a Paradise, and a possible im- 
mortality of the soul, but held the body not worthy of a glorious resurrec- 
tion. The latter, the followers of Epicurus, placed all happiness in the 
free gratification of worldly desire, and denied a God, a Providence, or a 
Future State. Bitterly as they were opposed to each other, they were 
alike opposed to the principles and spirit of Christianity. 



I 
i 

i 



ST. PAUL. 541 

court of the city, was to judge of all gods, to whom 
public worship might be allowed, they brought him 
before those judges, to give an account of his doctrine. 

Paul, being placed before the judges of this high assem- 
bly, readily gave them an account of his doctrine, in a 
grave and elegant speech ; wherein, having commended 
them for their religious dispositions, he took occasion, 
from the altar inscribed to the Unknown God," to make 
a proper defence of his doctrine. " I endeavor," said 
he, "only to explain that altar to you, and manifest the 
nature of that God whom ye ignorantly worship. The 
true God is he that made the world, and all things there- 
in ; and who, being Lord of all, dwells not in temples 
made with hands, nor is to be worshipped in lifeless 
idols. As he is the Creator of all things, he cannot be 
confined to the workmanship of man, whether temples 
or statues ; nor stand in need of sacrifices, since he is 
the fountain of life to all things. He made from one 
common original the whole race of mankind, and hath 
wisely determined their dependence on him, that they 
might be obliged to seek after him and serve him. A 
truth perceivable in the darkest state of ignorance, and 
acknowledged by one of your own poets. If this be the 
nature of God, it is surely the highest absurdity to rep- 
resent him by an image or similitude. The divine 
patience has been too much exercised already with such 
gross abuses in religion, but now expects a thorough 
reformation, having sent his Son Jesus Christ to make 
him known to the world, and at the same time to inform 
them that he had appointed a day of general judgment, 
when the religion of mankind shall be tried by the test 
of the gospel, before his only begotten Son, who is 



542 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



appointed sole judge of the quick and dead, and whose 
commission to that high office hath been ratified by the 
Almighty, in raising him from the dead." 

On his mentioning the resurrection, some of the 
philosophers mocked and derided him ; others, more 
modest, but not satisfied with the proofs he had given, 
gravely answered, We would hear thee again of this 
matter." After which Paul departed from the court ; 
but not without some success : for a few of his distin- 
guished auditors believed and attended his instructions. 

Thus boldly did this intrepid servant and soldier of 
Jesus Christ assert the cause of his divine Master, among 
the great, the wise, and the learned, and reason with 
great persuasion and eloquence on the nature of God, 
and the manner in which he has commanded his crea- 
tures to worship him, even in spirit and in truth. 

During St. Paul's stay at Athens, Timothy, according 
to the order he had received, came to him, out of Mace- 
donia, and brought an account that the Christians at 
Thessalonica were under persecution from their fellow- 
citizens, ever since his departure : at which St. Paul 
was greatly concerned, and at first inclined to visit them 
in person, to confirm them in the faith they had 
embraced ; but being hindered by the enemies of the 
gospel, he sent Timothy to comfort them, and put them 
in mind of what they had at first heard, namely, that 
persecution would be the constant attendant on their 
profession. 

On Timothy's departure, St. Paul left Athens, and 
travelled to Corinth, a very populous place, and famous 
for its trade.* 



* Corinth, forty-six miles west of Athens, was the capital of all Achaia, 
the residence of the Roman governor or Proconsul, and the most mag- 



ST. PAUL. 



543 



After some stay at Corinth, the apostle was joined by 
Silas and Timothy, and disputed frequently in the syna* 
gogue, reasoning and proving that Jesus was the true 
Messiah. 

During his stay at Corinth, he wrote his Second Epis- 
tle to the Thessalonians, to supply his absence. In this 
epistle he again endeavors to confirm their minds in the 
truth of the gospel, and prevent their being shaken with 
those troubles which the wicked and unbelieving Jews 
would be contirually raising against them. 

St. Paul, on his leaving the church at Corinth, took 
ship at Cenchrea, the port of Corinth, for Syria, taking 
with him Aquila and Priscilla; and on his arrival at 
Ephesus, he preached awhile in the synagogue of the 
Jews promising to return to them, after ^ keeping the 
passover at Jerusalem. Accordingly, he again took 
ship, and landed at Cesarsea, and from thence travelled 
to Jerusalem, where he kept the feast, visited the church, 
and then repaired to Antioch. Here he stayed some 
time, and then traversed the countries of Galatia* and 
Phrygia, confirming the newly converted Christians, till 

nificent of Grecian cities. It was situated on the isthmus that divides 
Southern from Northern Greece, midway between the JEgean and Ionian 
seas, with a port on each : Cenchrea on the east and Sechseum on the 
west. Its Acropolis rose to the height of two thousand feet, and afforded 
a splendid prospect. Its position for commerce was imrivalled, and its 
wealth overflowing. But its moral condition was most debased and re- 
volting, as may be judged from the fact that Neptune and Venus were 
its tutelar deities, and that prostitution was made a part of their religion. 

* Galatia was a province of Asia Minor, lying between Pisidia on the 
east and Phrygia on the west, on the high table land. Ancyra was its 
capital, and it contained many populous cities. The inhabitants were a 
mixed race of Gauls and Greeks, quick and ardent in temperament. 
Paul s first labors among them had been eminently successful. 



544 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



lie came to Ephesus,* where he fixed his abode for three 
years, bringing with him Gains of Derbe, Aristarchus, 
a native of Thessalonica, Erastus of Corinth, Timotheus, 
and Titus. 

Here he continued to preach the gospel ; by which 
means the Jews and proselytes had an opportunity of 
hearing the glad tidings of salvation ; and because 
mira<3les are the clearest evidence of a divine commission, 
the Almighty was pleased to certify the doctrine which 
St. Paul delivered by amazing and miraculous opera- 
tions, many of which were of a peculiar and extra- 
ordinary nature ; for he not only healed those who came 
to him, but if napkins or handkerchiefs w^ere only 
touched by him, and applied to the sick, their diseases 
immediately -vanished, and the evil spirits departed out 
of those that were possessed by them. 

About this time the apostle wTote his epistle to the 
Galatians ; for he had heard that, jsince his departure, 
corrupt opinions had crept in among them, with regard 
to the necessity of observing the legal rites. Here also 
he wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians, and sent it 
by the hands of Titus. 

* Ephesus, the capital of Proconsular Asia (the ancient Ionia), was 
situated on the river Cayster, about forty miles southeast of Smyrna. 
Its trade and population were very great. It was the queen city of Asia 
Minor, and specially'- celebrated for its magic arts and its mag-nificent tem- 
ple of Diana, counted as one of the seven wonders of the world. It was 
the very centre of ancient superstition — the throne of Satan's power. 
Many Jews, however, had settled there, like Lot in Sodom, for purposes 
of trade, and among them disciples of John the Baptist from Judea, and 
disciples of Christ, banished from Rome by the decree of Claudius Caesar, 
A. D. 50. Paul preached here for three years, and the apostle John 
afterward made it the centre of his labors for the last thirty years of his 
protracted life. 



ST. PAUL. 



545 



Soon after the great tumult at Ephesus, about the 
goddess Diana, Paul* called the Christians together, and 
took his leave of them with the most tender expres- 
sions of love and affection. He had now spent almost 
three years at Ephesus, and founded there a very con- 
siderable church. He first travelled about two hundred 
miles northward, to Troas, before he took ship, expect- 
ing to meet Titus there. But missing him, he proceeded 
on his voyage to Macedonia. 

On his arrival there, he preached the gospel in the 
principal places, even as far as Illyricum, now called 
Sclavonia. During this journey he met with many 
troubles and dangers, without were fightings, and 
within were fears but God who comforteth those that 
are cast down, revived his spirits by the arrival of Titus, 
who gave him a pleasing account of the good effects his 
epistle had produced at Corinth. 

During the stay of Titus in Macedonia, Paul wrote 
his second epistle to the Corinthians, and sent it to 
them by Titus and Luke. 

About this time also, some suppose, he wrote his first 
epistle to Timothy, whom he had left at Ephesus. 

During his stay in Greece, he went to Corinth, where 
he wrote his famous epistle to the Eomans, which he 
sent by Phoebe, a deaconess of the church of Cenchrea, 
near Corinth. 

St. Paul being now determined to return into Syria, in 
order to convey the contributions of the Gentile churches 
to the brethren at Jerusalem, set out on his journey ; 
but being informed that the Jews had formed a design 
of killing and robbing him by the way, came to Philippi, 
from whence he sailed to Troas, where he stayed seven 

35 



546 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



days. Here he preached to them on the Lord's day, 
and continued his discourse till midiiight, being himself 
about to depart in the morning. 

On his arrival at Miletus,* he sent to Ephesus, to 
summon the elders of the church ; and, on their coming, 
reminded them of the manner in which he had conversed 
among them, how faithfully and affectionately he had 
discharged the offices of his ministry, and how inces- 
santly he had labored for the good of the souls of men : 
adding, that he had never failed to acquaint them, both 
in public and private, with whatever might be useful 
and profitable to them, urging both the Jews and Gen- 
tiles to repentance, and reformation of life, and a hearty 
perseverance in the faith of Christ : that he was now 
going up to Jerusalem, where he was ignorant of what 
might befall him, except what had been foretold him by 
those who were endued with the prophetical gifts of the 
Holy Ghost ; namely, that afflictions and imprisonment 
would attend him ; but that this gave him no concern, 
being willing to lay down his life whenever the gospel 
required it, and fully determined to serve faithfully his 
great Lord and Master. 

St. Paul, having finished his touching discourse, 
kneeled down, and joined with them in prayer ; and they 
all melted into tears, and, with the greatest expressions of 
sorrow, attended him to the ship, grieving in the most 
passionate manner for what he had told them, ^^'that 
they should see his face no more." 

" Miletus was a maritime city, thirty miles to the south of Ephesus, 
and near the mouth of the ancient river Meander. It was famous for its 
antiquity, its many colonies, its distinguished men, and a temple of Apollo 
Didymus. 



ST. PAUL. 



547 



Paul, with his companions, now departed from Mile- 
tus, and arrived at Coos, from whence they sailed the 
next day to Rhodes, a large island in the -^gean sea. 
Leaving this place, they came to Patara, the metropolis 
of Lycia, where they went on board another vessel 
bound for Tyre, in Phoenicia. On his arrival, he visited 
the brethren there, and continued with them a week, 
and was advised by some of them, who had the gift of 
prophecy, not to go up to Jerusalem. But the apostle 
would by no means abandon his design, or refuse to suf- 
fer any thing, provided he might spread the gospel of 
his Saviour. Finding all persuasions were in vain, they 
jointly accompanied him to the shore, where he kneeled 
down, and prayed with them; and, after embracing 
them with the utmost affection, he went on board, and 
came to Ptolemais, and the next day to Caesarea. 

During their stay in this place, Agabus, a Christian 
prophet, came thither from Judea, who, taking Paul's 
girdle, bound his own hands and feet with it, signifying, 
by this symbol, that the Jews would bind Paul in that 
manner, and deliver him over to the Gentiles. Where- 
upon both his own companions, and the Christians of 
Caesarea, earnestly besought him that he would not go 
up to Jerusalem. But the apostle asked them, if they 
intended by these passionate dissuasives to add more 
affliction to his sorrow. " For I am ready," continued he, 
^^not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, for 
the name of the Lord Jesus." 

When the disciples found that his resolution was not 
to be shaken, they importuned him no further, leaving 
the event to be determined according to the pleasure of 
the Most High. And, all things being ready, Paul and 



I 
I 



548 LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

his companions set forward on their journey, and were 
kindlj and joyfully received by the Christians on their 
arrival at Jerusalem. 

While here the unbelieving Jews raised a tumult 
against Paul, and would have beaten him to death, but 
for the interference of Lysias, the captain of the Roman 
guard, by whom he was sent down to Caesarea for trial, 
before Felix, the Roman governor. 

Our apostle, soon after his arrival at Caesarea, encoun- 
tered Tertullus,* who, in a short, but eloquent speech, 
began to accuse him, charging him with sedition, heresy, 
and the profanation of the temple. 

The orator having finished his charge against the 
apostle, Felix -j* told St. Paul that he was now at liberty 
to make his defence, which he did. 

Felix having thus heard both parties, refused to pass 
any final sentence, till he had more fully advised about 
it ; adding that St. Paul should be kept under a guard, but 
at the same time enjoy the liberty of being visited by his 
friends, and receiving from them anj^^fhce of friendship. 



*■ The Jews not being acquainted with the judicial forms of Komaii 
law, emjDloyed Koman or Greek advocates to plead for them. Tertullua 
was an advocate of this class. The Greek language was often used in 
Roman courts, as being more generally understood in the provinces. 

t Felix was originally a slave, but was emancipated and elevated by Clau- 
dius Caesar, who conferred on him his name of Claudius. His character, ac- 
cording to Tacitus, was base, licentious, and cruel. When appointed gov- 
ernor of Judea (A. D. 52), he enticed Drusilla, sister of Agrippa, from her 
husband, and married her. He exerted all his energy to suppress robbers, 
but is charged with being in collusion with them, and his avarice and 
oppression were intolerable. On his return to Rome (A. D. 60), he was 
tried and condemned for mal-administration. 



ST. PAUL. 



549 



Here Paul remained two years, until Felix was succeeded 
by Festus.* 

Some time after, king Agrippa^f who succeeded Herod 
in the Tetrarchate of Galilee, and his sister Bernice, 
came to Csesarea to visit the new governor. Fes t us em- 
braced this opportunity of mentioning the case of our 
apostle to king Agrippa, together with the remarkable 
tumult this affair had occasioned among the Jews, and 
the appeal he had made to Caesar. This account ex- 
cited the curiosity of king Agrippa, and he was desirous 
of hearing himself what St. Paul had to say in his own 
vindication. 

Accordingly, the next day, the king and his sister, 
accompanied with Festus the governor, and several other 
persons of distinction, came into the court with a pomp- 
ous and splendid retinue, where the prisoner was brought 
before them. On his appearing, Festus informed the 
court how greatly he had been importuned by the Jews, 
both at Cassarea and Jerusalem, to put the prisoner to 

* Pontius Festus, who succeeded Felix in the government of Judea, 
was a man of much better character. His administration is well spoken 
of by Josephus, as vigorous and just. He died two years after he came 
into office. To his justice Paul owed the success of his appeal to Caesar, 

t Herod Agrippa II. (or the younger Agrippa) was the son of Herod 
Agrippa I., the Herod who slew James, the brother of John, Acts xii. He 
was educated at Kome, under the care of the Emperor Claudius, who first 
gave him {A. D. 47) the small kingdom of Chalcis, but in A. D. 53 trans- 
ferred him to the region east of the Jordan, over which his father had 
reigned at first — Abilene, Bataneu, Trachonitis, and Auranitis — with the 
title of king. He took part with the Romans in the Jewish war. and pro- 
tected the Christians in his dominions. He died in the third year of 
Trajan, A. D. 100, aged seventy. In Josephus and in the New Testament 
he is called Agrippa only. 

His sister Bernice was twice married, but later in life became the mit»- 
tress of Yespasian and Titus. 



550 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



death as a malefactor ; but having, on examination, found 
him guilty of no capital crime, and the prisoner himself 
having appealed unto Caesar, he was determined to 
send him to Rome ; but was willing to have his cause 
debated before Agrippa, that he might be furnished 
with some material particulars to send with him; it 
being highly absurd to send a prisoner without signify- 
ing the crimes alleged against him. 

Festus having finished his speech, Agrippa told Paul 
he was now at liberty to make his own defence ; and 
silence being made, he delivered his famous speech, 
particularly to Agrippa. (See Acts, xxvi.) 

While the apostle thus pleaded for himself, Festus 
cried out : Paul thou art mad ; too much study hath 
deprived thee of thy reason." But Paul answered : I 
am far, most noble Festus, from being transported with 
idle and distracted ideas. The words I speak are dic- 
tated by truth and sobriety. And I am persuaded that 
the king Agrippa himself is not ignorant of these things, 
for they were transacted openly befoi^ the world. I am 
confident, king Agrippa, that thou believest the proph- 
ets, and therefore must know all their predictions 
w^ere fulfilled in Christ." To which Agrippa answered : 

Thou hast almost persuaded me to embrace the Chris- 
tian faith." Paul replied : "\ sincerely wish that not 
only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were not 
almost, but altogether, the same as I myself, except 
being prisoners." 

It being now finally determined that Paul should be 
sent to Rome, he was, with several other prisoners of 
consequence, committed to the care of Julius, com- 
mander of a company belonging to the legion of Angus- 



ST. PAUL. 551 

tus ; and was accompanied in his voyage by St. Luke, 
Aristarchus, Tropliimus, and some others not mentioned 
by the sacred historian. 

In the month of September, they embarked on board 
a ship of Adramyttium, and sailed to Sidon, where the 
centurion courteously gave the apostle leave to go on 
shore to visit his friends and refresh himself. 

After a short stay they sailed for Cyprus, and arrived 
opposite the Fair-Havens. Here the season being far 
advanced, and Paul foreseeing it would be a dangerous 
voyage, persuaded them to put in and winter there. 
But the Eoman centurion, preferring the opinion of the 
master of the ship, and the harbor being at the same 
time incommodious, resolved if possible to reach Phoe- 
nice, a port of Crete, and winter there. But they soon 
found themselves disappointed; for the fine southerly 
gale which had favored them for some time, suddenly 
changed into a stormy and tempestuous wind at north- 
east, which blew with such violence that the ship was 
obliged to drive before it ; and to prevent her sinking, 
they threw overboard the principal part of her lading. 

In this desperate and uncomfortable condition they 
continued fourteen days, and on the fourteenth night 
the mariners discovered they were near some coast ; 
and therefore, to avoid the rocks, thought proper to 
come to an anchor till the morning might give them 
better information. 

During the time they continued at anchor, waiting 
for the light of the morning, St. Paul prevailed upon 
them to eat and refresh themselves, they having fasted a 
long time, assuring them they should all escape. 

The country near which they were, was, as Paul had 



552 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



foretold, an island called Melita, now Malta, situated 
between Sicily and Africa. Here they landed, and 
met with great civility from the people, who treated 
them with humanity, and entertained them with every 
necessary accommodation. But whilst St. Paul w^as 
laying a few sticks on the fire, a viper, enlivened by the 
heat, came from among the wood and fastened on his 
hand. On seeing this, the inhabitants of the island 
concluded that he was certainly some notorious mur- 
derer, whom the divine vengeance, though it suffered 
him to escape the sea, had reserved for a more public 
and solemn execution. But when they saw him shake 
off the venomous creature into the fire, and no manner 
of harm ensue, they changed their sentiments, and cried 
out that he was a god." 

After three months'^ stay in this island, the centurion 
with his charge went on board the Castor and Pollux, 
a ship of Alexandria, bound to Italy. They put in at 
Syracuse,* where they tarried three days ; then they 
sailed to Rhegium ; and from thence to Puteoli, where 
they landed — and finding some Christians there, stayed, 

* Syracuse, now called Siragisa, lies directly north of Malta, on the 
eastern coast of Sicily. It has a noble and capacious harbor. The city 
was much celebrated by the ancient writers for its great size, commerce, 
wealth, and enterprise, and as the birthplace of the famous mathemati- 
cian Archimedes. It contained three hundred thousand inhabitants ; 
now it has but thirteen thousand. 

Rhegium (now called Reggio) is on the western coast of Calabria, in the 
south of Italy, eight miles southeast from Messina in Sicily, across the 
straits. It is still a flourishing seaport. 

Puteoli is a maritime town on the western shore of Italy, just north of 
the Bay of Naples, and about eight miles from that noble city. It is now 
called PazzaoU. It stands on a small peninsula, and contains about fifteen 
thousand inhabitants. It is surrounded with splendid scenery, by sea and 
land. Vesuvius towers in the distance on the east 



ST. PAUL. 



553 



at their request, a week with them, and then set for- 
ward on their journey to Kome. The Christians of this 
latter city, hearing of the apostle's coming, went to meet 
him as far as the distance of about thirty miles from 
Rome, and others as far as the Apii-Forum, fifty-one miles 
distant from the capital. They kindly embraced each 
other, and the liberty he saw the Christians enjoy at 
Rome, and the love they manifested to him, greatly 
tended to enliven the spirits of the apostle. 

Having refreshed himself after the fatigue of his 
voyage, the apostle sent for the heads of the Jewish 
consistory at Rome, and related to them the cause of 
his coming, in the following manner : Though I have 
been guilty of no violation of the laws of our religion, 
yet I was delivered by the Jews at Jerusalem to the 
Roman governors, who more than once would have ac- 
quitted me as innocent of any capital offence; but, by the 
perverseness of my persecutors, I was obliged to appeal 
unto CaBsar. Not that I had any thing to accuse my 
nation of : I had recourse to this method merely to clear 
my own innocence." 

Having thus removed a popular prejudice, he added, 
" That the true cause of his sufferings was, that their 
own religion had taught him ' the belief and expectation 
of a future resurrection.' " But his discourse had dif- 
ferent effects on different hearers, some being convinced, 
and others persisting in their infidelity. 

For two whole years Paul dwelt at Rome, in a house 
he had hired for his own use ; wherein he assiduously 
employed himself in preaching and writing for the good 
of the church, especially his admirable Epistle to the 
Hebrews. 



554 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



The Christians of Pliilippi, hearing of St. Paul's 
being at Romej and not knowing what distress he might 
be reduced to, raised a contribution for him, and sent it 
by Epaphroditus ; by whomx he returned an epistle to 
them, wherein he gives some account of the state of his 
affairs at Rome. 

Here, also, he wrote his Epistles to the Ephesians, 
Colossians, and Philemon, and sent them by the hands 
of Tychicus, and Onesimus, a converted slave. 

Bv what means St. Paul was discharsred from the 
accusation the Jews brought against him, we have no 
account in history ; but it is natural to suppose, that 
not having sufficient proof of what they alleged, or 
being informed that the crimes they accused him of 
were no violation of the Roman laws, they durst not 
im23lead him before the Emperor, and so i3ermitted him 
to be discharged of course. But, by whatever means 
he procured his liberty, he wrote his Epistle to the 
Hebrews before he left Italy, from whence he dates his 
salutations. 

The principal design of it is to magnify Christ and 
the religion of the gospel above Moses and the Jewish 
economy, in order to establish and confirm the con- 
verted Jews in the firm belief and profession of Chris- 
tianit}^, notwithstanding the trouble and persecutions 
that would certainly attend them. 

Having thus discharged his ministry, both by preach- 
ing and writing, in Italy, St. Paul, accompanied by 
Timothy, prosecuted his long intended journey into 
Spain ; and, according to the testimony of several 
writers, crossed the sea and preached the gospel in Britain. 

What success he had in these western parts is not 



ST. ANDREW. 



555 



known : he, however, continued there eight or nine 
months, and then returned again to the east, visited 
Sicily, Greece, and Crete, and then repaired to Rome. 

Here he met with Peter, and was, together with him, 
thrown into prison, doubtless in the general persecution 
raised against the Christians, under pretence that they 
had set fire to the city. How long he remained in 
prison is uncertain ; nor do we know whether he was 
scourged before his execution. He was, however, al- 
lowed the privilege of a Roman citizen, and therefore, 
six months after writing his second epistle to Timothy, 
was beheaded. 

Being come to the place of execution, which was the 
Aquae Salvise, three miles from Rome, he cheerfully, 
after a solemn preparation, gave his neck to the fatal 
stroke ; and from this vale of misery passed to the 
blissful regions of immortality, to the kingdom of his 
beloved Master, the great Redeemer of the human race. 

He was buried in the Via Ostiensis, about two miles 
from Rome; and about the year 317, Constantine the 
Great, at the instance of Sylvester, built a stately church 
over his grave, adorned it with an hundred marble col- 
umns, and beautified it with the most exquisite work- 
manship. 



ST. AI^DEEW. 

This apostle was born at Bethsaida, a city of Galilee, 
built on the banks of the Lake of Genesareth, and was 
son to John, or Jonas, a fisherman of that town. He 



556 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



was brother to Simon Peter, but whether older or 
younger is not certainly known, though the generality 
of the ancients intimate that he was the younger. He 
w^as brought up to his father's trade, at which he labored 
till our blessed Saviour called him to be a fisher of men, 
for which he was, by some preparatory instructions, quali- 
fied even before the appearance of the Messiah, under 
John the Baptist. 

In the number of his followers was our apostle, who 
accompanied him beyond Jordan, when the Messiah, who 
had some time before been baptized, came that way. 
Upon his approach, the Baptist pointed him out as the 
Messiah, styling him the Lamb of God, the true sacrifice 
that was to expiate the sins of the world. As soon as the 
Baptist had given this character of Jesus, Andrew and 
another disciple, probably John, followed the Saviour of 
mankind to the place of his abode. 

After some conversation with him, Andrew departed, 
and having found his brother Simon, informed him that 
he had discovered the great Messiah, so long expected 
by the house of Jacob, and accordingly brought him to 
Jesus. They did not, however, stay long with their 
Master, but returned to their calling. 

Something more than a year after, Jesus, passing 
along the shore, found Andrew and Peter fishing on the 
sea of Galilee, where he fully satisfied them of the 
greatness and divinity of his person, by a miraculous 
draught of fishes, which they took at his command. He 
now told them that they should enter on a different 
series of labors, and instead of fish, should, by the effi- 
cacy and influence of their doctrine upon the heart and 
conscience, catch men ; commanding them to follow him, 



ST. ANDREW. 



557 



as liis immediate disciples and attendants ; and accord- 
ingly they left all and followed him. 

After the ascension of the blessed Jesus into heaven, 
and the descent of the Holy Ghost on the apostles, to 
qualify them for their great undertaking, St. Andrew, 
according to the generality of ancient writers, was chosen 
to preach the gospel in Scythia, and the neighboring 
countries. 

Accordingly he departed from Jerusalem, and first 
travelled through Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia, 
instructing the inhabitants in the faith of Christ, and 
continued his journey along the Euxine sea, into the 
deserts of Scythia. An ancient author tells us, that he 
first came to Amisus,* where, being entertained by a 
Jew, he went into the synagogue, preached to them con- 
cerning Jesus, and from the prophecies of the Old Tes- 
tament proved him to be the Messiah, and Saviour of 
the world. Havino; converted manv here, he settled 
the times of their public meetings, and ordained them 
pastors. 

He went next to Trapezium, a maritime city on the 

* Amisus was a large and beautiful Greek city in Pontus, on the 
Amisian gulf. Trapezium (or Trapezus, now Trebisond) was a colony 
of Greeks from Sinope. It lay on the south side of the Black sea, in the 
northeast of Pontus. . Nicca, or Nice, was a famous city of Bithynia, on 
the Propontis, and gave its name to the first great Christian Council 
assembled by Constantine, A. D. 325. Nicomedia, afterward the residence 
of the Emperor Direlesian, was farther north in the same province. 
Chalcedon was a flourishing city of Bithynia, in the northeast corner of 
Asia Minor, opposite to Byzantium (Constantinople.) It was afterward 
the seat of a Christian Council, A. D. 451. Heraclea, on the Euxine (or 
Black sea), was a Greek colony, famous for its navy, its hbrary, and rich 
temples. Amastris lay in the eastern part of Paphlagonia, not far from 
Sinope. 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Euxine sea; from whence, after visiting many other 
places, he came to Nice, where he stayed two years, 
preaching and working miracles with great success. 
After leaving Nice, he passed to Nicomedia, and from 
thence to Chalcedon, whence he sailed through the Pro- 
pontis, came by the Euxine sea to Heraclea, and after- 
ward to Amastris. In all these places he met with the 
greatest difficulties, but overcame them by an invincible 
patience and resolution. 

He next came to Sinope, a city situated on the same 
sea, and famous both for the birth and burial of King 
Mithridates ; here he met with his brother Peter, and 
stayed with him a considerable time. The inhabitants 
of Sinope were mostly Jews, who partly from a zeal for 
their religion, and partly from their barbarous manners, 
were exasperated against St. Andrew, and entered into 
a confederacy to burn the house in which he lodged. 
But being disappointed in their design, they treated him 
with the most savage cruelty, throwing him on the 
ground, stamping upon him with their feet, pulling and 
dragging him from place to place ; some beating him 
with clubs, some pelting him with stones, and others, to 
satisfy their brutal revenge, biting off his flesh with 
their teeth; till apprehending they had entirely de- 
prived him of life, they cast him out into the fields. 
But he miraculously recovered, and returned publicly into 
the city; by which and other miracles he wrought 
among them, he converted many from the error of their 
ways, and induced them to become disciples of the 
blessed Jesus. 

Departing from Sinope, he returned to Jerusalem ; but 
he did not continue long in that neighborhood. He 



ST. ANDREW. 



559 



returned again to the province allotted him for the exer- 
cise of his ministry, which greatly flourished through the 
power of the divine grace that attended it. 

He travelled over Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, 
Achaia, and Epirus, preaching the gospel, propagating 
Christianity, and then confirming the doctrine he taught 
with signs and miracles. At last he came to Petrea, a 
city of Achaia, where he gave his last and greatest tes- 
timony to the gospel of his divine Master, sealing it with 
his blood. 

JEgenSiS, proconsul of Achaia, came at this time to 
Petrea,* where, observing that multitudes had abandoned 
the heathen religion, and embraced the gospel of Christ, 
he had recourse to every method, both of favor and 
cruelty, to reduce the people to their old idolatry. The 
apostle, whom no difiiculties or dangers could deter from 
performing the duties of his ministry, addressed himself 
to the proconsul, calmly putting him in mind that, being 
only a judge of men, he ought to revere him who was 
the supreme and impartial J udge of all ; observing to him 
that if he would renounce his idolatries, and heartily 
embrace the Christian faith, he should, with him and 
the numbers who had believed in the Son of God, receive 
eternal happiness in the Messiah's kingdom. The pro- 
consul answered, that he himself should never embrace 
the religion he mentioned ; and that the only reason 
why he was so earnest with him to sacrifice to the gods 
was that those whom he had everywhere seduced might, 
by his example, be brought back to the ancient religion 
they had forsaken. The apostle replied, that with re- 



* More properly Patrse (the modern Patras), on the northwest comei 
of the Peloponnesus or Morea. 



560 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



gard to himself, he might act as he pleased, and if he 
had any torment greater than another, he might heap 
that upon him ; as the greater constancy he showed in 
his sufferings for Christ, the more acceptable he should 
be to his Lord and Master, ^genas, after treating him 
with very opprobious language, passed sentence on him 
that he should be put to death. 

He first ordered the apostle to be scourged, and seven 
lictors successively whipped his naked body ; but seeing 
his invincible patience and constancy, he commanded 
him to be crucified ; but to be fastened to the cr^ss with 
cords instead of nails, that his death might be more lin- 
gering and tedious. 

On his coming near the cross, he saluted it in the fol- 
lowing manner : I have long aesired and expected 
this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by 
the body of Christ hanging on it, and adorned with his 
members as with so many inestimable jewels. I there- 
fore come joyfully and triumphing to it, that it may re- 
ceive me as a disciple and follower of him, who once hung 
upon it, and be the means of carrying me safe to my 
Master, being the instrument on which he redeemed me." 

After offering up his prayer to the throne of grace, 
and exhorting the people to constancy and perseverance 
in the faith he had delivered them, he was fastened to 
the cross, on which he hung two whole days, teaching 
and instructing the people in the best manner his 
wretched situation would admit, being sometimes so 
weak and faint as scarce to have the power of utterance. 

In the meantime great interest was made to the pro- 
consul to spare his life ; but the apostle earnestly begged 
of the Almighty that he might now depart, and seal the 



ST. JAMES THE GREAT. 



661 



truth of his religion with his blood. His prayers were 
heard, and he expired on the last day of November, 
but in what year is uncertain. 

There seems to have been something peculiar in the 
form of the cross on which he suffered. It was commonly 
thought to have been a cross decussate, or two pieces of 
timber crossing each other in the centre, in the form of 
the letter X, and hence usually known by the name of 
St. Andrew's cross. 

His body being taken down from the cross, was de- 
cently and honorably interred by Maximilla, a lady of 
great quality and estate, and whom Nicephorus tells us, 
was wife to the proconsul. 



ST. JAMES THE GEEAT. 

This apostle (who was surnamed the Great, by way 
of distinction from another of that name) was the son 
of Zebedee, and by trade a fisherman, to which he 
applied himself with remarkable assiduity, and was ex- 
ercising his employment, when the Saviour of the world, 
passing by the sea of Galilee, saw him with his brother 
in the ship, and called them both to be his disciples. 

Soon after this he was called from the station of an 
ordinary disciple to the apostolic office, and even 
honored with some particular favors beyond most of the 
apostles, being one of the three whom our Lord made 
choice of as his companions in the more intimate trans- 
actions of his life, from which the rest were excluded 

36 



562 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Thus, with Peter and his brother John, he attended his 
Master when he raised the daughter of J air as from the 
dead ; he was admitted to Christ's glorious transfigura- 
tion on the mount ; and when the holy Jesus was to 
undergo his bitter agonies in the garden, as preparatory 
sufferings to his passion, James was one of the three 
taken to be a spectator of them. Nor was it the least 
instance of that particular honor our Lord conferred on 
these apostles, that at his calling them to the apostleship 
he gave them a new name and title. Simon he called 
Peter, or a rock ; and James and John, who were 
brothers, Boanerges, or the sons of thunder. 

Some think that this name was given them on account 
of their bold preaching of the gospel, going on thunder- 
ing in the ears of a drowsy and sleepy world. 

But however this be, our blessed Saviour, doubtless, 
alluded by this term to the disposition of these two 
brothers, who seem to have been of a more fiery temper 
than the rest of the apostles, of which we have this 
memorable instance. When our Lord was determined 
on his private journey to Jerusalem, at the Feast of 
Tabernacles, he sent some of his disciples before him to 
make preparations for his unexpected coming 5 but, on 
their entering a village of Samaria, they were rudely 
rejected, from the old grudge that subsisted between the 
Samaritans and Jews, and because the Saviour, by going 
up to Jerusalem, seemed to slight their place of worship 
on Mount Gerizim. This piece of rudeness and inhu- 
manity was so highly resented by St. James and his 
brother, that they came to J esus, desiring to know if he 
would not imitate Elias, by calling fire down from heaven 
to consume this barbarous, inhospitable people ? But 



ST. JAMES THE GREAT. 



563 



the holy Jesus soon convinced them of their mistake, 
by telling them, that instead of destroyingj lie was 
come to save the lives of the children of men. 

Sophronius tells us, that after the ascension of the 
blessed Jesus, this apostle preached to the dispersed 
Jews : that is, to those converts who dispersed after the 
death of Stephen. The Spanish writers will have it, 
that after preaching the gospel in several parts of Judea 
and Samaria, he visited Spain, where he planted Chris- 
tianity, and appointed some select disciples to perfect 
what he had begun: but if we consider the shortness 
of St. James' life, and that the apostles continued in a 
body at Jerusalem, even after the dispersion of the 
other Christians, we shall find it difficult to allow time 
sufficient for so tedious and difficult a voyage as that 
was in those early ages ; and therefore it is safest to 
confine his ministry to Judea and the adjacent countries. 

Herod Agrippa I., who was a bigot to the Jewish 
religion, as well as desirous of the favor of the Jews, 
began a violent persecution of the Christians, A. D. 44, 
and his zeal animated him to pass sentence of death on 
James immediately. As he was led to the place of 
execution, it is said, the officer that guarded him to the 
tribunal, or rather his accuser, having been converted 
by that remarkable courage and constancy shown by 
the apostle at the time of his trial, repented of what he 
had done, came and fell down at the apostle's feet, and 
heartily begged pardon for what he had said against him. 
The holy man, after recovering from the surprise, ten- 
derly embraced him. " Peace," said he, ^^my son, peace 
be unto thee, and pardon of thy faults." Upon wliich 
the officer publicly declared himself a Christian, and 



564 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



both were beheaded at the same time. Thus fell the. 
great apostle James, taking cheerfully that cup of which 
he had long since told his Lord he was ready to drink. 



ST. JOHI^ THE ETAKGELIST. 

From the very minute and circumstantial account 
this Evangelist gives of John the Baptist, he is justly 
supposed to have been one of his followers, and to be 
that other disciple who, in the first chapter of his gospel, 
is said to have been present with Andrew, when John 
declared Jesus to be "the Lamb of God," and thereupon 
to have followed him to the place of his abode. 

He was perhaps the youngest of the apostles, yet he 
was admitted into as great a share of his Master's confi- 
dence as any of them. He was one of those to whom 
he communicated the most private transactions of his 
life : one of those whom he took with him when he 
raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead : one of 
those to whom he displayed a specimen of his divinity, 
in his transfiguration on the mount ; who were present 
at his conference with Moses and Eli as, and heard that 
voice which declared him ^Hhe beloved Son of God;" 
and one of those who were companions in his solitude, 
most retired devotions, and bitter agonies in the garden. 

These instances of particular favor, our apostle 
endeavored, in some measure, to answer by returns of 
particular kindness and constancy. For though he at 
first deserted his Master on his apprehension, yet he 
Boon recovered himself, and came back to see his Saviour, 



ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 



565 



confidently entered the high-priest's hall, followed our 
Lord through the several particulars of his trial, and at 
last waited on him at his execution, owning him, as 
well as being owned by him, in the midst of armed 
soldiers, and in the thickest crowd of his most invete- 
rate enemies. Here it was that our great Redeemer 
committed to his care his sorrowful and disconsolate 
mother, with his dying breath. And certainly the holy 
Jesus could not have given a more honorable testimony 
of his particular respect and kindness to St. John than 
by leaving his own mother to his trust and care, and 
substituting him to supply that duty himself paid her 
while he resided in this vale of sorrow. 

After the ascension of the Saviour of the world, when 
the apostles made a division of the provinces among 
themselves, that of Proconsular Asia fell to the share 
of St. John, though he did not immediately enter upon 
his charge, but continued at Jerusalem till the death of 
the blessed Virgin, which might be about fifteen years 
after our Lord's ascension. Being released from the 
trust committed to his care by his dying Master, he re- 
tired into Asia,* and industriously applied himself to 
the propagation of Christianity, preaching where the 
gospel had not yet been known, and confirming it 
where it was already planted. Many churches of note 
and eminence were of his foundation, particularly those 
of Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, 
Laodicea, and others. But his chief place of residence 
was at Ephesus, where St. Paul had many years before 
founded a church. 

^ There is no proof tliat the apostle John was in Proconsular As.';» 
until after the destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70. The Acts and tlic Kpis; 
ties of Paul forbid the supposition. 



566 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



After spending many years at Ephesus, he was ac- 
cused to Domitian, who had begun a persecution against 
the Christians, as an eminent assertor of atheism and 
impiety, and a public subverter of the religion of the 
empire ; so that by his command the proconsul sent him 
bound to Kome, where he met with the treatment that 
might have been expected from so barbarous a prince — 
being thrown (according to Tertullian) into a cal- 
dron of boiling oil. But the Almighty restrained 
the heat, as he did in the fiery furnace of old, and 
delivered him from this seemingly unavoidable de- 
struction. But miracles themselves were not sufficient 
to convince this cruel emperor, or abate his fury. 
He ordered St. John to be transported to an almost 
desolate island in the Archipelago, called Patmos, where 
he continued several years, instructing the poor inhabi- 
tants in the knowledge of the Christian faith. And 
here, about the end of Domitian's reign, he wrote his 
book of Kevelation, exhibiting by visions and propheti- 
cal representations the state and condition of Christian- 
ity in the future periods and ages of the church. 

Upon the death of Domitian, and the succession of 
Nerva (A., D. 95), who repealed all the odious acts of 
his predecessor, and by public edicts recalled those whom 
the fury of Domitian had banished, St. John returned to 
Asia, and fixed his seat again at Ephesus;* the rather 

* The position of Ephesus as a great maritime city, midway between 
Borne and Alexandria, made it the natural centre of Christianity after the 
destruction of Jerusalem. Here the venerable apostle could collect and 
authenticate before his death all the canonical ^yritings of the New Tes- 
tament. This important fact has been generally overlooked by writers 
on the Canon, though it is of itself sufficient to decide the question as to 
the canon of the Primitive Church. 



ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. 



567 



because the people of that city had lately martyred 
Timothy. Here, in the best manner that the circum- 
stances of those times would permit, he spent his time 
in an indefatigable execution of his charge, travelling 
from east to west, through Asia Minor, to instruct men in 
the principles of the holy religion he was sent to propagate. 

In this manner St. John continued to labor in the 
vineyard of his great Master, until death put a period 
to all his toils and sufferings ; which happened in the 
beginning of Trajan's reign, in the ninety-eighth year 
of his age ; and, according to Eusebius, his remains were 
buried near Ephesus. 

St. John seems to have led a single life ; though some 
of the ancients tell us he was a married man. He was 
polished by no study of arts or learning; but what was 
wanting from human art, was abundantly supplied by, 
the excellent constitution of his mind, and that fulness 
of divine grace with which he was adorned. His 
humility was admirable, studiously concealing his own 
honor. For in his epistle he never styles himself 
either apostle or evangelist : the title of presbyter, or 
elder, is all he assumes, and probably in regard to his 
age as much as his office. In his gospel, when he 
speaks of ''the disciple whom Jesus loved," he con- 
stantly conceals his own name, leaving the reader to 
discover whom he meant. 

The greatest instance of our apostle's care for the 
souls of men is in the writings he left to posterity, in- 
cluding his gospel, his three epistles, and his Apocalypse, 
or Book of Revelation. 

Such is the character of this great apostle and evan- 
gelist, who was honored with the endearing title of being 



568 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



the beloved disciple of the Son of God : a writer so pro- 
found as to deserve by way of eminence, the character 
of " St. John the Divine." 



ST. PHILIP. 

This apostle was a native of Bethsaida, ^Hhe city of 
Andrew and Peter." He had the honor of being first 
called to be a disciple of the great Messiah, which hap- 
pened in the following manner : Our blessed Saviour, 
soon after his return from the wilderness, where he had 
been tempted by the devil, met with Andrew, and his 
brother Peter, and after some discourse parted from 
them. The next day, as he was passing to Galilee,, he 
found Philip, whom he presently commanded to follow 
him, the constant form he made use of in calling his 
disciples, and those that inseparably attended him. So 
that the prerogative of being first called, evidently 
belongs to Philip. 

It cannot be doubted, that notwithstanding Philip 
was a native of Galilee, yet he was skilled in the law 
and the prophets. Metaphrastes assures us, that he 
had, from his childhood, been excellently educated ; 
that he frequently read over the books of Moses, and 
attentively considered the prophecies relating to the 
Messiah. 

Nor was our apostle idle after the honor he had re- 
ceived of being called to attend the Saviour of the 
world; he immediately imparted the glad tidings of the 



ST. PHILIP. 



569 



Messiah's appearance to his friend Nathaniel, and con- 
ducted hirn to Jesus. 

After being called to the apostleship we have very 
little record of him by the evangelists. It was, how- 
ever, to hioi that our Saviour proposed the question, 
where they should find bread sufficient to satisfy the 
hunger of so great a multitude. Philip answered, that 
it was not easy to procure so great a quantity ; not con- 
sidering that it was equally easy for Almighty power to 
feed double the number, when it should be his divine 
will. It was also to the same apostle that the Gentile 
proselytes, who came up to worship at Jerusalem, 
applied, when they were desirous to see the Saviour of 
the world. And it was with him our Lord had the dis- 
course at the holy Supper. 

The compassionate Jesus had been fortifying their 
minds with proper considerations against his departure 
from them, and had told them that he was going to 
prepare for them a place in the mansions of the 
heavenly Canaan; that he was "the way, the truth, 
and the life and that no man could come to the Father 
but by him. 

Philip, not thoroughly understanding, begged of him, 
that he would " show them the Father." Our blessed 
Lord gently reproved his ignorance of the divine nature, 
and particularly, that after attending so long to his in- 
structions, he should not know that he was the image 
of his Father — the express character of his infinite 
wisdom, power, and goodness, appearing in him. 

The ancients tell us, that in the distribution made 
by the apostles of the several regions of the world, the 
Upper Asia fell to his share, wlicre lie hibored with an 



570 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



indefatigable diligence and industry. By the constancy 
and power of liis preaching, and the efficacy of his 
miracles, he gained numerous converts, whom he bap- 
tized into the Christian faith, curing at once their bodies 
of infirmities and distempers, and their souls of errors 
and idolatry. He continued with them a considerable 
time in settling churches, and appointing them guides 
and ministers of religion. 

After several years successsfully exercising his apos- 
tolical office in all those parts, he came at last to Hier- 
apolis, in Phrygia, a city remarkably rich and populous, 
but at the same time overrun with the most enor- 
mous idolatry. 

St. Philip being grieved to see the people so wretch- 
edly enslaved by error and superstition, continually 
offered his addresses to heaven, till by his prayers, calling 
on the name of Christ, he procured the death, or at least 
the disappes^ring, of an enormous serpent, to which they 
paid adoration. 

Having thus demolished their deity, he demonstrated 
to them how ridiculous and unjust it was for them to 
pay divine honors to such odious creatures : showed 
them that God alone was to be worshipped as the great 
Parent of all the world, who in the beginning made 
man after his glorious image, and when fallen from 
that innocent and happy state, sent his own Son into 
the world to redeem him : that in order to perform this 
glorious work, he died on the cross, and rose again 
from the dead, and at the end of the world will come 
again to raise all the sons of men from the chambers 
of the dust, and sentence them to everlasting rewards 
or punishments. This discourse roused them from 



ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 



571 



their lethargy ; they were ashamed of their late idol- 
atry, and great numbers embraced the doctrines of the 
gospel. 

This provoked the great enemy of mankind, and he 
had recourse to his old methods — cruelty and persecu- 
tion. The magistrates of the city seized the apostle, 
and having thrown him into prison, caused him to be 
scourged. When this preparatory cruelty was over, he 
was led to execution, and, being . bound, was hanged 
against a pillar ; or, according to others, crucified. The 
apostle being dead, his body was taken down by St. Bar- 
tholomew, his fellow laborer in the gospel, and Mari- 
amne, St. Philip's sister, the constant companion of his 
travels, and decently buried; after which, they con- 
firmed the people in the faith of Christ, and departed 
from them. 



ST. BAETHOLOMEW. 

This apostle is mentioned amongst the twelve imme- 
diate disciples of our Lord under the appellation of Bar- 
tholomew,'^' though it is evident, from divers passages 
of Scripture, that he was also called Nathaniel : we shall 
therefore, in our account of his life, consider the names 
of Nathaniel and Bartholomew as belonging to one and 
the same person. 

With regard to his descent and family, some are of 
opinion that he was a Syrian, and that he was descended 



* The son of Ptolemy. 



572 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



from the Ptolemies of Egypt. But it is plain, from tlie 
evangelical history, that he was a Galilean ; St. John 
having expressly told us that Nathaniel was of Cana, in 
Galilee. 

The Scripture is silent with regard to his trade and 
manner of life, though, from some circumstances, there 
is room to imagine that he was a fisherman. He was 
at the first coming to Christ, conducted by Philip, who 
told him they had now found the long expected Messiah, 
so often foretold by Moses and the prophets, Jesus of 
Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And when he objected 
that the Messiah could not be born at Nazareth, Philip 
desired him to come and satisfy himself that Jesus was 
the Messiah. 

At his approach, our blessed Saviour saluted him 
with this honorable appellation, that he was an "Israel- 
ite indeed, in whom there was no guile not in an 
absolute, but restricted sense. In another sense, he 
appeared to "be a true Israelite," or one that "waited 
for redemption in Israel," which, from the times men- 
tioned in the Scripture predictions, he knew to be near 
at hand. 

He was greatly surprised at our Lord's salutation, 
wondering how he could know him at first sight, as 
imagining he had never before seen his face. But he 
was answered, that he had seen him while he was yet 
under the fig-tree, even before Philip called him. Con- 
vinced by this instance of our Lord's divinity, he 
presently made his confession, that he was now sure 
that Jesus was the promised Messiah, that Son of God 
whom he had appointed to govern the church. Our 
blessed Saviour told him, that if from this instance he 



ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 



573 



could believe him to be the Messiah, he should have 
far greater arguments to confirm his faith ; for that he 
should hereafter behold the heavens opened to receive 
him, and the angels visibly appearing joyful at his 
entrance into the heavenly Canaan. 

Our apostle having his peculiar spot allotted him for 
the promulgation of the gospel of his blessed Master, 
who had now ascended into heaven, and dispensed his 
Holy Spirit to qualify his disciples for the important 
work, visited different parts of the world to preach the 
gospel, and penetrated as far as the Hither India. 

After spending considerable time in India, and the 
eastern extremities of Asia, he returned to the northern 
and western parts, and we find him at Hierapolis, in 
Phrygia, laboring in concert with Philip to plant Chris- 
tianity in those parts ; and to convince the blind 
idolators of the evil of their ways, and direct them 
in the paths that lead to eternal salvation. This enraged 
the bigoted magistrates, and he was, together with 
Philip, designed for martyrdom, and in order to this, 
fastened to a cross ; but their consciences pricking them 
for a time, th^y took Bartholomew down from the cross 
and set him at liberty. 

From hence he retired to Lycaonia, and Chrysostom 
assures us that he instructed and trained up the inhabi- 
tants in the Christian discipline. 

His last remove was to Albanople, in Great Armenia, 
a place miserably overrun with idolatry, from which he 
labored to reclaim the people. But his endeavors to 
^Hurn them from darkness unto light, and from the 
power of Satan unto God," were so far from having the 
desired efiect that it provoked the magistrates, who 



574 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



prevailed on the governor to put him to death, which 
he cheerfully underwent, sealing the truth of the doc- 
trine he had preached, with his blood. 



ST. MATTHEW. 

Matthew, called also Levi, though a Eoman ofl&cer, 
was a true Hebrew, and probably a Galilean. His trade 
was that of a publican or tax-gatherer to the Romans, 
an office detested by the generality of the Jews, on two 
accounts ; first, because having farmed the customs of 
the Romans, they used every method of oppression to pay 
their rents to the Romans; secondly, because they 
demanded tribute of the Jews, who considered them- 
selves as a free people, having received that privilege from 
God himself. And hence they had a common proverb 
among them, Take not a wife out of that family in which 
there is a publican, for they are all publicans." That 
is, they are all thieves, robbers, and notorious sinners. 
And to this proverbial custom our blessed Saviour 
alludes, when speaking of a hardened sinner, on whom 
neither private reproofs, nor the public censures and 
admonitions of the church, can prevail. " Let him be 
to thee as an heathen man and a publican." 

Our blessed Saviour, having cured a person long 
afflicted with the palsy, retired out of Capernaum to 
walk by the sea-side, where he taught the people that 
flocked after him. 

Here he saw Matthew sitting in his office, and called 



ST. MATTHEW. 



575 



him to follow him. The man was rich, had a large and 
profitable employment, was a wise and prudent person, 
and doubtless understood what would be his loss to 
comply with the call of Jesus. He was not ignorant 
that he must exchange wealth for poverty, a custom- 
house for a prison, and rich and powerful masters for a 
naked and despised Saviour. But he overlooked all 
those considerations, left all his interest and relations, 
to become our Lord's disciple, and to embrace a more 
spiritual way of life. 

After Matthew's election to the apostleship, he con- 
tinued with the rest till the ascension of his great and 
beloved Master. But the evangelical writers have re- 
corded nothing particular concerning him during that 
period. 

After our blessed Saviour's ascension into heaven, 
Matthew, for the first eight years at least, preached in 
difierent parts of Judea; but afterward he left the 
country of Palestine to convert the Gentile world. 
Before his departure he was entreated by the Jewish 
converts to write the history of the life and actions of 
the blessed Jesus, and leave it among them as a stand- 
ing monument of what he had so often delivered to 
them in his sermons. This he readily complied with. 

After his leaving Judea, he travelled into several 
parts, especially Ethiopia ; but the particular places he 
visited are not known with any certainty. 

However, after laboring indefatigably in the vineyard 
of his Master, he suffered martyrdom at a city of Ethio- 
pia called Naddabar. But by what kind of death, is 
not absolutely known, though the general opinion is 
that he was slain with an halbert. 



57G LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 

Matthew was a remarkable instance of the power of 
religion in bringing men to a better temper of mind. 
If we reflect upon his circumstances while he continued 
a stranger to the great Redeemer of mankind, we shall 
find that the love of the world had possessed his heart. 
But notwithstanding this, no sooner did Christ call him, 
than he abandoned without the least scruple or hesita- 
tion all his riches. 

He was modest in his own opinion, always preferring 
others to himself ; for whereas the other evangelists, in 
describing the apostles by pairs, constantly place him 
before Thomas, he modestly places him before himself. 
The rest of the evangelists are careful to mention the 
honor of his apostleship, but speak of his former sordid 
course of life, only under the name of Levi ; while he 
himself sets it down with all the circumstances, under 
his own proper and common name. A conduct which 
at once commends the prudence and candor of the apos- 
tle, and suggests to us this useful reflection, that the 
greatest sinners are not excluded from divine grace ; 
nor can any, if penitent, have just reason to despair, 
when publicans and sinners find mercy at the thro"^e 
of grace. 



ST. THOMAS. 

Evangelical history is entirely silent with regard 
either to the country or kindred of Thomas. It is, 
however, certain that he was a Jew, and in all prob- 
ability a Galilean. 



ST. THOMAS. 



577 



He was, together, like the rest, called to the apostle- 
ship ; and, not long after gave an eminent instance of 
his being ready to undergo the most melancholy fate 
that might attend him. For when the rest of the apos- 
tles dissuaded their Master from going into Judea, at the 
time of Lazarus' death, because the Jews lately en- 
deavored to stone him, Thomas desired them not to hin- 
der his journey thither, though it might cost them all 
their lives. 

When the holy Jesus, a little before his sufferings, 
had been speaking to them of the joys of heaven, and 
had told them that he was going to prepare mansions 
for them, that they might follow him, and that they 
knew both the place whither he was going, and the way 
thither j our apostle replied, that they knew not whither 
he was going, much less the way that would lead them 
thither. To which our Lord returned this short but 
satisfactory answer, I am the way I am the person 
whom the Father has sent into the world to shoAV man- 
kind the path that leads to eternal life, and therefore 
you cannot miss the way, if you follow my example. 

After the disciples had seen their great Master expire 
on the cross, their minds were distracted by hopes and 
fears concerning his resurrection, about which they 
were not then fully satisfied ; which engaged him the 
sooner to hasten his appearance, that by the sensible 
manifestations of himself, he might put the matter 
beyond all possibility of dispute. 

At the first meeting Thomas was absent, having 
probably never joined their company since their disper- 
sion in the garden, where every one's fears prompted 
him to consult his own safety. At his return they told 
37 



578 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



him that the Lord had appeared to them 5 but he obsti- 
nately refused to give credit to what they said, or 
believe that it was really he, presuming it rather a 
spectre or apparition, unless he might see the very 
print of the nails, and feel the wounds in his hands and 
side. 

But our compassionate Saviour would not take the 
least notice of his perverse obstinacy, but on that day 
seven-night came again to them, as they were solemnly 
met at their devotions, and calling to Thomas, bade 
him look upon his hands, put his fingers into the prints 
of the nails, and thrust his hand into his side, to satisfy 
his faith by a demonstration from the senses. Thomas 
was convinced of his error and obstinacy, and confessed 
that he now acknowledged him to be his Lord and Master, 
saying, My Lord and my God." Our Lord answered, 
that it was happy for him that he believed the testimony 
of his own senses ; but that it would have been more 
commendable in him to have believed without seeing, 
because it was foretold that the Son of God should burst 
the chains of death, and rise again from the dead. 

Thomas, as well as the rest, preached the gospel in 
several parts of Judea ; and after the dispersion of the 
Christian church in Jerusalem, repaired into Parthia, 
the province assigned him for his ministry. After which, 
as Sempronius and others inform us, he preached the 
gospel to the Medes, Persians, Caramanians, Hyrcani, 
Bactartans, and the neighboring nations.* During his 
preaching in Persia, he is said to have met with the 



* There is reason to think the apostle Thomas penetrated China, and 
planted churches there. 



ST. THOMAS. 



o79 



Magi, or wise men, who had taken that long journey at 
our Saviour's birth to worship him, whqm he baptized, 
and took with him as his companions and assistants in 
propagating the gospel. 

Leaving Persia, he travelled into Ethiopia, preaching 
the glad tidings of the gospel, healing their sick, and 
working other miracles, to prove he had his commission 
from on high. And after travelling through these coun- 
tries, he entered India. 

When the Portuguese first visited these countries after 
their discovery of a passage by the Cape of Good Hope, 
they received the following particulars, partly from con- 
stant and uncontroverted traditions preserved by the 
Christians in those parts ; namely, that St. Thomas came 
first to Socotora, an island in the Arabian sea, and then 
to Cranganor, where having converted many from the 
error of their ways, he travelled farther into the east ; 
and having successfully preached the gospel, returned 
back to the kingdom of Coromandel, where at Matta- 
pour, the metropolis of that kingdom, not far from the 
mouth of the Ganges, he began to erect a place for 
divine worship, till prohibited by the idolatrous priests, 
and Sagamo, prince of that country. But after per- 
forming several miracles, the work was suffered to pro- 
ceed, and Sagamo himself embraced the Christian faith, 
whose example was soon followed by great numbers of 
his friends and subjects. 

This remarkable success alarmed the Brahmins, who 
plainly perceived that their religion would soon be ex- 
tirpated, unless some method could be found of putting 
a stop to the progress of Christianity ; and therefore re- 
solved to put the apostle to death. At a small distance 



580 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



from the city was a tomb, whither St. Thomas often re- 
tired for private devotions. Hither the Brahmins, and 
their armed followers pursued him, and while he was at 
prayer, they first shot at him with a shower of darts, 
after which one of the priests ran him through with a 
lance. His body was taken up by his disciples, and 
buried in the church he had lately erected. 

Chrysostom says, that Thomas, who at first was the 
weakest and most incredulous of all the apostles, became, 
through Christ's condescension to satisfy his scruples, 
and the power of divine grace, the most active and 
invincible of them all ; travelling over most parts of the 
world, and living without fear in the midst of barbarous 
nations, through the efficacy of that almighty power 
which can make the weakest vessels to perform acts of 
the greatest difficulty and moment. 



ST. JAMES THE LESS. 

It has been doubted by some, whether this was the 
game with that James who was afterward bishop of J eru- 
salem, two of this name being mentioned in the sacred 
writings, namely, St. James the Great, and St. James 
the Less, both apostles. But nothing is plainer than that 
vSt. James the apostle (whom St. Paul calls " our Lord's 
brother," and reckons, with Peter and John, one of the 
pillars of the church) was the same who presided among 
the apostles, and determined the cause in the council of 
Jerusalem. It is reasonable to think that he was the 



ST. JAMES THE LESS. 



581 



son of Joseph, afterward the husband of Mary, by his 
first wife, whom St. Jerome styles Escha, and adds, 
that she was the daughter of Aggi, brother to Zacharias, 
the father of John the Baptist. Hence he was reputed 
our Lord's brother. 

After the resurrection, he was honored with the par- 
ticular appearance of our Lord to him, which though 
passed over in silence by the evangelists, is recorded by 
St. Paul. 1 Cor. XV. 17. 

Some time after he was chosen bishop of Jerusalem. 
When Paul came to Jerusalem after his conversion, he 
applied to James, and was honored by him with the 
right-hand of fellowship." And it was to James that 
Peter sent the news of his miraculous deliverance out 
of prison. *^^Go," said he, ^^show these things unto 
James and to the brethren that is, to the whole church, 
especially to James the pastor of it. 

He performed every part of his duty with all possible 
care and industry, omitting no particular necessary to 
be observed by a diligent and faithful guide of souls, 
strengthening the weak, instructing the ignorant, re- 
ducing the erroneous, reproving the obstinate : and by 
the constancy of his sermons, conquering the stubborn- 
ness of that perverse and refractory generation he had 
to deal with, many of the nobler and better sort being 
persuaded to embrace the Christian faith. 

But a person so careful, so successful in his charge, 
could not fail of exciting the spite and malice of his 
enemies ; a sort of men to whom the apostle has given 
too true a character, that " they please not God, and 
are contrary to all men." They were vexed to see St. 
Paul had escaped their hands, by appealing unto Caesar ; 



582 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



and therefore turned their fury against St. J ames : but 
being unable to effect their design under the govern- 
ment of Festus, they determined to attempt it under 
the procuratorship of Albinus his successor, Ananus the 
younger, of the sect of the Sadducees, being high-priest. 

In ord-er to do this a council was summoned, and the 
apostle, with others, arraigned and condemned as viola- 
tors of the law. But that the action might appear 
more plausible and popular, the Scribes and Pharisees, 
masters in the art of dissimulation, it is said, endea- 
vored to ensnare him. 

The apostle being advantageously placed on a pinna- 
cle of the temple, they addressed him in the following 
manner ; " Tell us, what is the instruction of the cruci- 
fied Jesus ?" To which the apostle answered, with an 
audible voice, Why do ye inquire of Jesus the Son of 
Man ? He sits in heaven, at the right hand of the 
Majesty on high, and will come again in the clouds of 
heaven." The people below hearing this, glorified 
Jesus, and openly proclaimed, "Hosanna to the Son of 
David." 

The Scribes and Pharisees now perceived that they 
had acted foolishly. Accordingly they suddenly cried 
out. That James himself was become an impostor ; and 
they immediately threw him from the pinnacle on 
which he stood, into the court below ; but not being 
killed on the spot, he recovered himself so far as to rise 
on his knees, and pray fervently to heaven for his mur- 
derers. But malice is too diabolical to be pacified with 
kindness, or satisfied with cruelty. Accordingly his 
enemies, vexed that they had not fully accomplished 
their work, poured a shower of stones upon him, while 



ST. SIMON, THE ZEALOT. 



583 



he was imploring their forgiveness at the throne of 
grace ; and one of them, dissatisfied with this cruel 
treatment, put an end to his misery with a fuller's club. 

Thus did this great and good man finish his course, in 
the ninety-sixth year of his age, and about twenty-eight 
years after our blessed Saviour's ascension into heaven. 
His death was lamented by all good men, even by the 
sober and just persons among the Jews themselves, as 
Josephus himself confesses. 

He was a man of exemplary piety and devotion, edu- 
cated under the strictest rules and institutions of religion. 
Prayer was his constant business and delight ; he seems 
as it were to have lived upon it, and continually to have 
had his conversation in heaven ; and he who has told 
us, " that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much," 
found it so by his own experience, heaven lending a 
more immediate ear to his petitions ; so that in a time 
of remarkable drought, on his praying for rain, the 
clouds melted into fruitful showers. 

Nor was his charity toward men less than his piety 
toward God ; he did good to all, watched over the souls 
of men, and studied to advance their eternal welfare 
Of this his Epistle is a living monument. 



ST, SIMOI:^, THE ZEALOT. 

This Simon, in the catalogue of the apostles, is styled 
Simon the Cananite," whence some conjecture he was 
born in Cana of Galilee, and others will have him to 



584 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



have been the bridegroom mentioned by St. John, at 
whose marriage our blessed Saviour turned the water 
into wine. But this word has no relation to his country, 
or the place of his nativity, being derived from the 
Hebrew word kana," which signifies zeal," and 
denotes a warm and sprightly temper. What some of the* 
evangelists therefore call Cananite," others, rendering 
the Hebrew by the Greek word, style Zealot :" from 
his warm, active temper, and zealous forwardness in 
some particular sect of religion before his coming to our 
Saviour. 

In order to understand this the better, it will be 
necessary to observe, that as there were several sects 
and parties among the Jews, so there was one, either a 
distinct sect, or at least a branch of the Pharisees, called 
the sect of the Zealots. This sect of the Zealots took 
upon them to execute punishments in extraordinary 
cases ; and that not only by the connivance, but with 
the permission both of the rulers and people Josephus 
gives a large account of them, and everywhere bewails 
them as the great plague of the nation. 

This is a true account of the sect of the Zealots; 
though, whatever St. Simon was before, we have no 
reason to suspect but after his conversion he was very 
zealous for the honor of his Master. He continued in 
communion with the rest of the apostles and disciples 
at Jerusalem ; and at the Feast of Pentecost received 
the same miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost ; so that as 
he was qualified with the rest of his brethren for the 
apostolical office, in propagating the gospel of the Son of 
God. We cannot doubt of his exercising his gifts with 
the same zeal and fidelity, though in what part of the 



i 

i 

ST. JUDE. 585 

world is uncertain. Some say he went into Egypt, 
Cyrene, and Africa, preaching the gospel to the inhabi- 
tants of those remote and barbarous countries. And 
others add, that after he had passed through those 
burning wastes, he took ship and visited the frozen 
regions of the north, preaching the gospel to the inhabi- 
tants of the western parts, and even to Britain : where 
having converted great multitudes and sustained the 
greatest hardships and persecutions, he was at last cruci- 
fied, and buried in some part of Great Britain, but the 
place where is unknown. 



ST. JUDE. 

This apostle is mentioned by three several names, in 
the evangelical history, namely, Jude or Judas, Thad- 
deus, and Lebbeus. 

He was brother to James the Less, being the son of 
Joseph, the reputed father of Christ, by a former wife. 
It is not known when or by what means he became a 
disciple of our blessed Saviour, nothing being said of 
him, till we find him in the catalogue of the twelve 
apostles ; nor afterward, till Christ's last supper, when 
discoursing with them about his departure, and comfort- 
ing them with a promise, that he would return to them 
again (meaning after his resurrection), and that the 

world should see him no more, though they should see 
him," our apostle said to his Master, ''Lord, how is it 
that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the 
world ?" 

Paulinus tells us that the province which fell to the 



586 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



share of Jude, in the apostolic division of the provinces, 
was Lybia ; but he does not tell us whether it was the 
Cyrenian Lybia, which is thought to have received the 
gospel from St. Mark, or the more southern parts of 
Africa. But however that be, in his first setting out to 
preach the gospel, he travelled up and down Judea and 
Galilee ; then through Samaria unto Idumea, and to the 
cities of Arabia and the neighboring countries, and after- 
ward to Syria and Mesopotamia. Nicephorus adds, that 
he came at last to Edessa, where Abagarus governed, 
and where Thaddeus, one of the seventy, had already 
sown the seeds of the gospel. Here he perfected what 
the other had begun ; and having by his sermons and 
miracles established the religion of Jesus, he died in 
peace ; but others say that he was slain at Berytus, and 
honorably buried there. The writers of the Latin 
Church are unanimous in declaring that he travelled into 
Persia, where, after great success in his apostolical 
ministry for many years, he was at last, for his freely 
and openly reproving the superstitious rites and customs 
of the Magi, cruelly put to death. 

St. Jude left only one epistle, which is placed the 
last of those seven, styled catholic, in the sacred canon. 
It hath no particular inscription as the other six have, 
but it is thought to have been primarily intended for 
the Christian Jews, in their several dispersions, as St. 
Peter's epistles were. Li it he tells them that he at 
first intended to write to them in general of the common 
salvation, and establish and confirm them in it ; but see- 
ing the doctrine of Christ attacked on every side by her- 
etics (as foretold by Peter, in his second epistle, nearly 
thirty years before), he conceived it more necessary tc 



ST. MATTHIAS. 



587 



spend his time in exhorting them to fight manfully in 
defence of the faith once delivered to the saints, and 
oppose the false teachers who labored so indefatigably to 
corrupt it. 

It was some time before this epistle was generally re- 
ceived in the church. The author, indeed, like St. 
James, St. John, and sometimes St. Paul himself, does 
not call himself an apostle, styling himself only "the 
servant of Christ." But he has added what is equivalent, 

Jude, the brother of James," a character that can belong 
to no one but our apostle. And surely the humility of 
a follower of Jesus should be no objection against his 
writings. 



ST. MATTHIAS. 

As Matthias was not an apostle of the first election, 
immediately called and chosen of the Son of God him- 
self, it cannot be expected that any account of him can 
be found in the evangelical history. He was one of our 
Lord's disciples, probably one of the seventy; he had 
attended on him the whole time of his public ministrj', 
beginning with the baptism o^" John, and after his death 
was elected into the apostleship to supply the place of 
Judas, who, after betraying his great Lord and Master, 
laid violent hands on himself. 

The defection of Judas having made a vacancy in the 
apostolic college, the first thing they did, after their 
return from Mount Olivet, when their areat Master had 
ascended to the throne of his gloi-}-, was to fill up 
this vacancy with a p reaper person. 



588 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Accordingly; two persons were proposed, Joseph, 
called Barsabas, and Matthias, both duly qualified for 
the important office. The method of election was by 
lot, a way common both among the Jews and Gentiles 
for determining doubtful and difficult cases, especially 
in choosing judges or magistrates. The prayer being 
ended, the lots were drawn, by which it appeared 
that Matthias was the person, and he was accordingly 
numbered among the twelve apostles. 

St. Matthias spent the first year of his ministry in 
Judea, where he reaped a very considerable harvest of 
souls, and then travelled into difierent parts of the world, 
to publish the glad tidings of salvation to people who 
had never before heard of a Saviour ; but the particular 
parts he visited are not certainly known. 

It is uncertain by what kind of death he left the 
regions of mortality, and sealed the truth of the gospel 
he had so assiduously preached, with his blood. Doro- 
theus says, he finished his course at Sebastople, and was 
buried there, near the temple of the sun.* But the 
Greek offices, supported herein by several ancient brevia^ 
ries, tell us that he was crucified. 



ST. MAEX. 

St. Mark was descended from Jewish parents, and of 
the tribe of Levi. The ancients generally considered 
him as one of the seventy disciples ; and Epiphanius 



* Sebastoble, (or Sevastopol) on the north side of the Black sea, is a 
maritime city, made famous in our times by its siege, defence, and final 
capture by the French and English forces, in the late war with Eussia. 



ST. MARK. 



589 



expressly tells us, that he was one of those who, taking 
exception at our Lord's discourse of " eating his flesh 
and drinking his blood, went back and walked no more 
with him." But there appears no manner of foundation 
for these opinions, nor likewise for that of Nicephorus, 
who will have him to be the son of St. Peter's sister, 

Eusebius tells us, that St. Mark was sent into Egypt 
by St. Peter to preach the gospel, and accordingly 
planted a church in Alexandria, the metropolis of it ; 
and his success was so very remarkable, that he converted 
multitudes both of men and women ; persuading them 
not only to embrace the Christian religion, but also a 
life of more than ordinary strictness. 

St. Mark did not confine himself to Alexandria and 
the oriental parts of Egypt, but removed westward to 
Lybia, passing through the countries of Marmacia, Pen- 
tapolis, and others adjacent, where, though the people 
were both barbarous in their manners, and idolatrous in 
their worship, yet by his preaching and miracles he pre- 
vailed on them to embrace the tenets of the gospel ; 
nor did he leave them till he had confirmed them in 
the faith. 

After this long tour he returned to Alexandria, where 
he preached with the greatest freedom, ordered and dis- 
posed of the affairs of the church, and wisely provided 
for a succession, by constituting governors and pastors 
of it. But the restless enemy of the souls of men would 
not suffer our apostle to continue in peace and quietness, 
for while he was assiduously laboring in the vineyard 
of his Master, the idolatrous inhabitants, about the time 
of Easter, when they were celebrating the solemnities 
of Serapis, tumultuously entered the church, forced St. 



590 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Mark, then performing divine service, from thence ; and 
binding liis feet with cords, dragged him through the 
streets, and over the most craggy places, to the Bucelus, 
a precipice near the sea, leaving him there in a lonesome 
prison, for that night ; but his great and beloved Master 
appeared to him in a vision, comforting and encour- 
aging his soul, under the ruins of his shattered body. 
The next morning early the tragedy began afresh, for 
they dragged him about in the same cruel and barbarous 
manner, till he expired. But their malice did not end 
with his death ; they burnt his mangled body after they 
had so inhumanly deprived it of life : but the Chris- 
tians, after the horrid tragedy was over, gathered up his 
bones and ashes, and decently interred them near the 
place where he used to preach. 

His remains were afterward, with great pomp, re- 
moved from Alexandria to Venice, where they were 
religiously honored, and he was adopted the tutelar saint 
and patron of that state. 

He suffered martyrdom on the 25th of April, but 
the year is not absolutely known : the most probable 
opinion, however, is that it happened about the end of 
Nero's reign. 

His gospel, the only writing he left behind him, was 
written at the entreaty and earnest desire of the converts 
at Eome, who not content with having heard St. Peter 
preach, pressed St. Mark, his fellow disciple, to commit 
to writing an historical account of what he had delivered 
to them, which he performed with equal faithfulness 
and brevity, and being perused and approved of by St. 
Peter, it was commanded to be publicly read in their 
assemblies. It was frequently styled St. Peter's gospel, 



ST. LUKE. 



591 



not because he dictated it to St. Mark, but because the 
latter composed it in the same manner as St. Peter 
usually delivered his discourses to the people. The re- 
markable impartiality he observes in all his relations is 
plain from hence, that so far from concealing the 
shameful lapse and denial of Peter, he describes it with 
more aggravating circumstances than any of the other 
evangelists. 



ST. LUKE. 

This disciple of the blessed Jesus was born at Antioch, 
the metropolis of all Syria, a city celebrated by the 
greatest writers of those times for the pleasantness of 
its situation, the fertility of its soil, the riches of its 
commerce, the wisdom of its senate, and the civility and 
politeness of its inhabitants. It was eminent for schools 
of learning, which produced the most renowned masters 
in the arts and sciences. So that, being born, as it 
were, in the lap of the muses, he could not well fail of 
acquiring an ingenious and liberal education. But he 
was not contented with the learning of his own country : 
he travelled for improvement into several parts of 
Greece and Egypt, and became particularly skilled in 
physic, which he made his profession. 

St. Luke was a Jewish proselyte ; but at what time 
he became a Christian is uncertain. It is the opinion 
of some, from the introduction to his gospel, that he had 
the facts from the reports of others, who were eye-wit- 
nesses. They suppose him to have been converted by 



592 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



St. Paul : and that he learned the history of his gospel 
from the conversation of that apostle. On the other 
hand, those who hold that he wrote his gospel, from his 
own personal inquiries and knowledge, observe, that he 
could not receive it from St. Paul, as an eye-witness of 
the matters contained in it, because all those matters 
were transacted before his conversion.* 

But however this be, St. Luke became the inseparable 
companion of St. Paul, in all his travels, and his co^ 
stant fellow-laborer in the work of the ministry. This 
endeared him to that apostle, who seems delighted with 
owning him for his fellow-laborer, and in calling him 

the beloved physician," and the brother whose praise 
is in the gospel throughout all the churches." 

St. Luke wrote two books for the use of the church, 
his gospel and the Acts of the Apostles ; both which he 
dedicated to Theophilus. Many of the ancients suppose 
this to be a feigned name, denoting a lover of God, a title 
common to all sincere Christians. But others think it 
was a real person, because the title of " most excellent" 
is attributed to him ; the usual title and form of address 
in those times to princes and great men. 

His gospel contains the principal transactions of our 
Lord's life ; and the particulars omitted by him are in 
general of less importance than those of the other 
evangelists. 

With regard to the Acts of the Apostles, written by 

* How easy was it for Luke, on first hearing the gospel at Antioch, 
A. D. 35, to visit Jerusalem, and collect all the facts from the apostles, 
and other eye-witnesses. Mary, our Lord's mother, might furnish most 
of the early documents used, and all might be selected and stamped by 
divine inspiration and authority. 



ST. LUKE. 



593 



St- Luke, the work was, no doubt performed at Kome, 
about the time of St. Paul's residing there, with which 
he concludes his history. 

It contains the actions, and sometimes the sufferings, 
of the principal apostles, especially St. Paul, whose 
activity in the cause of Christ made him bear a great 
part in the labors of his Master ; and St. Luke being his 
constant attendant, an eye-witness of the whole carriage 
of his life, and privy to his most intimate transactions, 
was consequently capable of giving a more full and satis- 
factory account of them.* Among other things he 
enumerates the great miracles the apostles did in con- 
firmation of their doctrine. 

In both these treaties his manner of writing is exact 
and accurate ; his style, noble and elegant, and yet clear 
and perspicuous, flowing with an easy and natural grace 
and sweetness, admirably adapted to a historical design. 
In short, as a historian, he was faithful in his relations, 
and elegant in his writing s y as a minister, careful and 
diligent for the good of souls ; as a Christian, devout and 
pious ; and to crown all the rest, laid down his life in 
testimony of the gospel he had both preached and pub- 
lished to the world. 

* Luke did not join Paul until A. D. 52, at Troas. Acts xvi. 11. 
Prior to this period, he probably was much engaged in Jerusalem, in pre- 
paring his Gospel, and the first part of his history of the Acts of the 
Apostles. His gospel, we cannot doubt, was published, and copies multi- 
plied for circulation before he went into Macedonia with Paul. This 
almost self-evident preposition is confirmed by 2 Cor. viii. 22, in spite of 
the unreasonable doubts of some critics. 
38 



594 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



BAEXABAS. 

Barnabas was at first called Joses, a softer termina- 
tion generally given by the Greeks to Joseph. His 
fellow disciples added the name of Barnabas, as signifi- 
cant of some extraordinary property in him. St. Luke 
interprets it "the son of consolation/' from his being 
ever ready to minister to the afilictedj both by word 
and action. 

He was a descendant of the tribe of Levi, of a family 
removed out of Judea, and settled in the Isle of Cyprus, 
where they had purchased an estate, as the Levites 
might do out of their own country. His parents finding 
him of a promising genius and disposition, placed him 
in one of the schools of Jerusalem, under the tuition of 
Gamaliel, St. Paul's master ; an incident which, in all 
probability, laid the first foundation for that intimacy 
that afterward subsisted between these two eminent ser- 
vants of the blessed Jesus. 

The first mention we find of Barnabas in the Holy 
Scriptures, is the record of that great and worthy ser- 
vice he did the church of Christ, by succoring it with 
the sale of his patrimony in Cyprus, the whole price of 
which he laid at the apostles' feet, to be put into the 
common stock, and disposed of as they should think fit 
among the indigent followers of the holy Jesus. 

And now also Barnabas became considerable in the 
ministry of the church ; for we find that St. Paul coming 
to Jerusalem three years after his conversion, and not 
readily procuring admittance into the church, because 



BARNABAS. 



595 



he had been so grievous a persecutor of it, and might 
still be suspected of a design to betray it, addressed 
himself to Barnabas, a leading man among the Chris- 
tians, and one that had personal knowledge of him. He 
accordingly introduced him to Peter and James, and 
satisfied them of the sincerity of his conversion, and in 
what a miraculous manner it was brought about. This 
recommendation carried so much weight with it, that 
Paul was not only received into the communion of the 
apostles, but taken into Peter's house, ^^and abode 
with him fifteen days." Gal. i. 18. 

Then the agreeable news was brought to Jerusalem, 
that several of their body who had been driven out of 
Judea by the persecutions raised about Stephen, had 
preached at Antioch with such success, that a great 
number, both of Jews and proselytes, embraced Chris- 
tianity; and were desirous that some superior man 
would come down and confirm them. This request was 
immediately granted, and Barnabas was deputed to 
settle the new plantation. Being himself " a good man 
and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith," his charitable 
deeds accompanying his discourses, and his pious life 
exemplifying his sound doctrine, the people were greatly 
influenced by him, and very considerable additions 
were made to the Christian church. But there being 
too large a field for one laborer, he went to fetch Saul 
from Tarsus, who came back with him to Antioch, and 
assisted him a whole year in establishing that church. 
Their labors prospered : their assemblies were crowded, 
and the disciples, who before this were called among 
themselves, " brethren, believers, elect," and by their 



596 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



enemies, " Nazarenes and Galileans/' were now called 
'•'^Christians" first at Antioch, A. D. 43. 

In the famine the next year, they were deputed by 
the church at Antioch to convey succor to the poor 
Christians in Judea. When they had fulfilled their 
charitable embassy, and stayed some time at Jerusalem 
to see the good effects of it, they returned again to 
Antioch, bringing with them John, whose surname was 
Mark, the son of Mary, sister to Barnabas, and at 
whose house the disciples found both security for their 
persons, and conveniency for the solemnities of their 
worship. 

After they had returned to Antioch, an express rela- 
tion was made to the church by the mouth of one of the 
prophets who ministered there, that Barnabas and Saul 
should be set apart for an extraordinary work, unto 
which the Holy Ghost had appointed them. Upon this 
declaration the church set apart a day for a solemn mis- 
sion; after devout prayer and fasting, they laid their 
hands upon them, and designated them to their ofiice; 
which was to travel over certain countries, and preach 
the gospel to the Gentiles. From this joint commission 
to the heathen, Barnabas obtained the name of an 
apostle. 

Paul and Barnabas being thus consecrated "the apos- 
tles of the Gentiles," entered upon their province, taking 
with them John Mark, for their minister or deacon, who 
assisted them in many ecclesiastical offices, particularly 
in taking care of the poor. 

The first city they visited, after their departure from 
Antioch, was Seleucia, a city of Syria, adjoining to the 
sea ; from whence they sailed for the island of Cyprus, 



BARNABAS. 



697 



the native place of St. Barnabas, and arrived at Salamis, 
a port formerly remarkable for its trade. Here they 
boldly preached the doctrines of the gospel in the syna- 
gogues of the Jews : and from thence travelled to 
Paphos, the capital of the island, and famous for a 
temple dedicated to Venus, the tutelar goddess of 
Cyprus. Here their preaching was attended with re- 
markable success ; Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, being, 
among others, converted to the Christian faith. 

Leaving Cyprus, they crossed the sea to preach in 
Pamphilia, where John Mark, to the great grief of his 
uncle Barnabas, left them, and returned to Jerusalem : 
either tired with continual travels, or discouraged at 
the unavoidable dangers and difficulties which experi- 
ence had sufficiently informed him would constantly 
attend the preachers of the gospel from hardened Jews 
and idolatrous Gentiles. 

Soon after their arrival at Lystra, in Lycaonia, Paul 
cured a man who had been lame from his mother' kS 
womb, which so astonished the inhabitants, that they 
believed them to be gods, who had visited the world in 
the forms of men. Barnabas they treated as Jupiter, 
their sovereign deity, either because of his age, or the 
gravity and comeliness of his person; for all the writers 
of antiquity represent him as a person of venerable 
aspect, and a majestic presence. But the apostles, with 
the greatest humility, declared themselves to be but 
mortals : and the inconstant populace soon satisfied 
themselves of the truth of what they had asserted ; for 
at the persuasion of their indefatigable persecutors, who 
followed them thither also, they made an assault upon 
them, and stoned Paul, till they left him for dead. But, 



598 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



supported by an invisible power from on high, he soon 
recovered his spirits and strength, and the apostles im- 
mediately departed for Derbe. Soon after their arrival, 
they again applied themselves to the work of the min- 
istry, and converted many to the religion of the blessed 
Jesus. 

From Derbe they returned back to Lystra, Iconium, 
and Antioch in Pisidia, "confirming the souls of the 
disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith ; 
and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into 
the kingdom of God." Acts xiv. 22. After a short 
stay they again visited the churches of Pamphilia, Perga, 
and Attala, where they took ship, and sailed to Antioch 
in Syria, the place from whence they first set out. Soon 
after their arrival, they called the church of this city to- 
gether, and gave them an account of their travels, and 
the great success with which their preaching in the Gen- 
tile world had been attended. 

But they had not long continued, in this city, before 
their assistance was required to compose a difference in 
the church, occasioned by some of the Jewish converts, 
who endeavored to persuade the Gentiles that they 
were bound to observe the law of Moses, and be circum- 
cised as well as baptized. Barnabas endeavored to dis- 
suade the Zealots from pressing such unnecessary obser- 
vances : but all his endeavors proving ineffectual, he 
was deputed with ^t. Paul and others, to the church at 
Jerusalem, to submit the question, to be determined 
there in a full assembly. During their stay at Jerusa- 
lem, Mark, in all probability, reconciled himself to Bar- 
nabas, and returned with him and St. Paul to Antioch, 
after they had succeeded in their business in J erusalem, 



BARNABAS. 



599 



and obtained a decree that the Gentile converts should 
not have circumcision and other Mosaic rites imposed 
upon them. 

This determination generally comforted and quieted 
the minds of the Gentiles, but it did not prevent the 
bigoted Jews from keeping up a separation from them ; 
and that with so much obstinacy, that when St. Peter, 
some time after, came to Antioch, he, for fear of offend- 
ing them, deviated from his former practice and late 
speech and vote in the council of Jerusalem, by refrain- 
ing from all kinds of communion with the Gentiles : and 
Barnabas himself, though so great and good a man, was 
induced, by the authority of his example, to commit the 
same error; but, on being reproved by St. Paul, they 
both took more courage, and walked according to the 
true liberty of the gospel. 

Some days after this last occurrence, Paul made a pro- 
posal to Barnabas, that they should repeat their late 
travels among the Gentiles, and see how the churches 
they had planted increased in their numbers, and im- 
proved in the doctrines they had taught them. Barna- 
bas very readily complied with the motion ; but desired 
they might take with them his reconciled nephew, J ohn 
Mark. This Paul absolutely refused, because, in their 
former voyage, Mark had not shown the constancy of a 
faithful minister of Christ, but consulted his own ease 
at a dangerous juncture. Barnabas still insisted on 
taking him ; and the other continuing as resolutely 
opposed to it, a short debate arose, which terminated in 
a separation — whereby these two holy men, who had 
for several years been companions in the ministry, r.nd 
with united endeavors propagated the Gospel of the Son 



600 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



of Godj now took different provinces. Barnabas, with 
his kinsman, sailed to his own country, Cyprus; and 
Paul, accompanied by Silas, traveled to the churches of 
Syria and Cilicia. 

After this separation from St. Paul, the sacred writ- 
ings give us no account of Barnabas ; nor are the 
ecclesiastical writers agreed among them^selves with 
regard to the actions of this apostle after his sailing for 
Cyprus.* This however seems to be certain, that he 
did not spend the whole remainder of his life in that 
island, but visited different parts of the world, preaching 
the glad tidings of the gospel, healing the sick, and 
working other miracles among the Gentiles. 

After long and painful travels, attended with differ- 
ent degrees of success in different places, he returned to 
Cyprus, his native country, where he suffered martyr- 
dom in the following manner: Certain Jews, coming 
from Syria and Salamis, where Barnabas was then 
preaching the gospel, being highly exasperated at his 
extraordinary success, fell upon him as he was disputing 
in the synagogue, dragged him out, and, after the most 
inhuman tortures, stoned him to death. His kinsman, 
John Mark, who was a spectator of this barbarous 
action, privately interred his body in a cave, where it 
remained till the time of the Emperor Zeno, in the year 
of Christ 485, when it was discovered, with St. Mat- 
thew's Gospel, in Hebrew, written with his own hand, 
Ivinff on his breast. 



^' St. Paul, however, refers to him geven years after then' separation, as 
a faithful and self-denying laborer in the gospel. 1 Cor. ix. 6. This pas- 
sage sufficiently proves that their difference of judgment and division of 
labor had not divided their hearts 



STEPHEN. 



601 



STEPHEir. 

Both the Scriptures and the ancient writers are 
silent with regard to the birth, country, and parents 
of Stephen. Epiphanius is of opinion that he was one 
of the seventy disciples. But this is very uncertain. 
Our blessed Saviour appointed his seventy disciples to 
teach the doctrines and preach the glad tidings of the 
gospel ; but it does not appear that Stephen and the 
six other first deacons had any particular designation 
before they were chosen for the service of the tables. 
And therefore Stephen could not have been one of our 
Lord's seventy disciples, though he might have often 
followed him and listened to his discourses. 

He was remarkably zealous for the cause of religion, 
and full of the Holy Ghost — working many wonderful 
miracles before the people, and pressing them with the 
greatest earnestness to embrace the doctrine of the 
gospel. 

This highly provoked the J ews ; and some of the 
synagogues of the freedmen of Cyrenia, Alexandria, 
and other places, entered into dispute with him. But 
being unable to resist the wisdom and spirit by which 
he spake, they suborned false witnesses against him to 
testify that they heard hjm blaspheme against Moses 
and against God. Nor did they stop here. They 
stirred up the people by their calumnies, so that they 
dragged him before the council of the nation, or great 
Sanliedrin. where they produced false witnesses against 
him — who deposed that they heard him speak against 



802 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



the temple, and against the law, and affirm that Jesus 
of Nazareth would destroy that holy place, and abolish 
the law of Moses. Stephen, supported by his own inno- 
cence and an invisible power from on high, appeared 
undaunted in the midst of this assembly; and his counte- 
nance shone like that of an angel. "When the high 
priest asked him what he had to offer against the 
accusations laid to his charge, he answered in a plain 
and faithful address to the Jews, which he closed in the 
following manner : 

^^Ye stiff-necked; ye uncircumcised in heart and 
ears ; ye do forever resist the Holy Ghost. Ye tread 
in the j)aths of your fathers. As they did, so do you 
still continue to do. Did not your fathers persecute 
every one of the prophets ? Did not they slay them 
who showed the coming of the Holy One, whom ye 
yourselves have betrayed and murdered ? Ye have 
received the law by the dispensation of angels, but 
never kept it." 

At these words they were so highly enraged, that 
they all gnashed their teeth against him. But Stephen, 
lifting up his eyes to heaven, saw the glory of God, and 
Jesus standing at the right hand of Omnipotence. Upon 
which he said to the council, " I see the heavens open 
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 
This so greatly provoked the Jews, that they cried out 
with one voice, and stopped their ears, as if they had 
heard some dreadful blasphemy ; and falling upon him, 
they dragged him out of the city, and stoned him to 
death. 

Stephen, while they were manghng his body with 
stones, was praying to Omnipotence for their pardon. 



TIMOTHY. 



603 



"Lord," said he, "lay not this sin to their charge." 
And then calling on his dear Kedeemer to receive his 
spirit, he yielded up his soul. 



TIMOTHY. 

Timothy was a convert and disciple of St. Paul. He 
was born at Lystra, in Asia Minor. His father was a 
Gentile, but his mother a Jewess, whose name was 
Eunice, and that of his grandmother, Lois. 

These particulars are taken notice of, because St. Paul 
commends their piety and the good education which 
they had given Timothy. When St. Paul came to 
Derbe and Lystra, about the year of Christ 51, the 
brethren gave a very advantageous testimony of Timo- 
thy : and the apostle would have him along with him, 
and he circumcised him at Lystra before he received him 
into his company. Timothy applied himself to labor 
with St. Paul in the business of the gospel ; and did 
him many important services, through the whole course 
of his preaching. It is believed that he received very 
early the imposition of the apostle's hands ; and that in 
consequence of a particular revelation, or from the Holy 
Ghost.* St. Paul calls him not only his dearly beloved 

* As Timothy was yot a young man when Paul wrote his first epistle 
to him (1 Tim. iv. 12), and even when he wrote his second (A. D. 67), as 
appears from 2 Tim. ii. 22, he must have been quite young at his conver 
flion (A. D. 47), probably not over fourteen ; and not over eighteen when 
called into the ministry of the gospel. 



604 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



son, but also his brother, the companion of his labors, 
and a man of God. He declared there were none more 
united with him in heart and mind, than Timothv 

This holy disciple accompanied St. Paul to Macedonia,^ 
to Philippi, to Thessalonica, to Berea ; and when the 
apostle went from Berea, he left Timothy and Silas 
there to confirm the converts. When he came to Athens, 
ho sent for Timothy to come thither to him ; and when 
he was come and had given him an account of the 
churches of Macedonia, St. Paul sent him back to Thes- 
salonica, from whence he afterward returned with Silas, 
and came to St. Paul at Corinth. There he continued 
with him, and the apostle mentions him, with Silas, at 
the beginning of the two epistles which he then wrote 
to the Thessalonians. 

Some years after this, St. Paul sent Timothy and 
Erastus into Macedonia ; and gave Timothy orders to 
call at Corinth, to refresh the minds of the Corinthians, 
with regard to the truths which he had inculcated on 
them. Some time after, writing to the same Corinthians, 
he recommends them to take care of Timothy, and send 
him back in peace ; after which, Timothy returned to 
St. Paul in Asia, who there staid for him. They went 
together into Macedonia ; and the apostle puts Timothy's 
name with his own, before the second epistle to the 
Corinthians, which he wrote to them from Macedonia, 
about the middle of the year of Christ 57. And he 
sends his salutations to the Romans in the letter 
which he wrote to them from Corinth the same year. 

When St. Paul returned from Rome, in 64, he left 
Timothy at Ephesus to take care of that church, of 
which he was not first bishop, as he is recognized by the 



TIMOTHY. 



605 



council of Chalcedon. St. Paul wrote to liim from 
Macedonia, the first of the two letters which are ad- 
dressed to him. He recommends him to be more mod- 
erate in his austerities, and to drink a little wine because 
of the weakness of his stomach, and his frequent in- 
firmities. After the apostle came to Rome, in the year 
67, being now very near his death, he wrote to him his 
second letter, which was full of the marks of his kind- 
ness and tenderness for this, his dear disciple ; and which 
is justly looked upon as the last will of St. Paul. He 
desires him to come to Rome to him before winter, and 
bring with him several things which St. Paul had left at 
Troas. If Timothy went to Rome, as it is probable he 
did, he must have been a witness of the martyrdom of 
this apostle, in the year of Christ 68. 

If he did not die before the year 97, we can hardly 
doubt but that he must be the Angel of the church of 
Ephesus, to whom John writes in his Revelation : 
though the reproaches with which he seems to load him 
for his instability in having left his first love, do not 
seem to agree to so holy a man as Timothy was. 

The greatest part of interpreters think that these re- 
proaches do not so much concern the person of Timothy, 
as that of members of his church, whose zeal was grown 
cool. But others are persuaded that they may be 
applied to Timothy himself, who made ample amends, 
by the martyrdom which he suffered, for the reproaches 
mentioned by St. John in this place. It is supposed 
that Timothy had Onesimus for his successor. 



606 



LIYES OF THE APOSTLES. 



TITUS. 

Titus was a Gentile by religion and birth, but 
converted bv St. Paul, who calls him his son. St. 
Jerome says that he was St. Paul's interpreter. St. 
Paul took him with him to Jerusalem, when he went 
thither in the year 51 of the vulgar era, about deciding 
the question which was then started, whether the con- 
verted Gentiles ought to be made subject to the ceremo- 
nies of the law ? Some would then have obliged him to 
circumcise Titus ; but neither he nor Titus would con- 
sent to it."^ Titus was sent by the same apostle to 
Corinth, upon occasion of some disputes which then 
divided the church, A. D. 57. He was very well received 
by the Corinthians, and very much satisfied with their 
ready compliance : but would receive nothing from 
them, imitating thereby, the disinterestedness of his 
Master. 

From hence he went to St. Paul in Macedonia, and 
gave him an account of the state of the church at 
Corinth. A little while after, the apostle desired him 
to return again to Corinth, to set things in order pre- 
paratory to his coming. Titus readily undertook this 
journey, and departed immediately, carrying with him 
St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Titus was 
left in the Isle of Crete, about the 63d year of 
Christ, when St. Paul was obhged to quit that island, 

* Paul would not consent to the circumcision of Titus because he was 
a Gentile, and a great principle was involved in it. He afterward circum- 
cised Timothy, because by his mother's side he was a Jew, and no princi- 
ple was involved but expediency In both cases he was consistent. 



JOHN MARK. 



607 



in order to take care of the other churches. The fol- 
lowing year he wrote to him, to desire that as soon as 
he should have sent Tychicus or Artemus to him for 
supplying his place in Crete, Titus would come to him 
to Nicopolis in Macedonia, or to Nicopolis in Epirus, 
upon the gulf of Ambracia, where the apostle intended 
to pass his winter. 

The Epistle to Titus has always been acknowledged 
by the church. It is not certainly known from what 
place it was written, nor by whom it was sent. 

Titus was deputed to preach the gospel in Dalmatia ; 
and he was still there in the year 67, when the apostle 
wrote his second epistle to Timothy. He afterward re- 
turned into Crete ; from which it is said he propagated 
the gospel into the neighboring islands. He died at the 
age of 94, and was buried in Crete. The Greeks keep 
his festival on the 25th of August, and the Latins on 
the 4th of January. 



JOHI)^ MAEK. 

John Mark, nephew to Barnabas, and a disciple 
of his, was the son of a Christian woman named Mary, 
who had a house in Jerusalem where the apostles and 
the faithful generally used to meet. Here they were 
at prayers, in the night, when St. Peter, who was de- 
livered out of prison by the angel, came and knocked at 
the door. And in this house, the celebrated church of 
Sion was said to have been afterward established. 



608 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



Jolin Mark (wliom some very improperly confound 
with the Evangelist, St. Mark,) adhered to St. Paul 
and Barnabas, and followed them in their return to 
Antioch. He continued in their company and service 
till they came to Perga, in Pamphylia ; but then, seeing 
that they were undertaking a longer journey, he left 
them and returned to Jerusalem. This happened in 
the year 45 or 46 of the common era. 

Some years after, that is to say in the year 51, Paul 
and Barnabas, preparing to return into Asia in order to 
visit the churches which they had formed there, Barna- 
bas was of opinion that John Mark should accompany 
them in this journey ; but Paul would not consent to 
it. Upon which occasion these two apostles separated 
Paul went to Asia, and Barnabas, with John Mark, to 
the Isle of Cyprus. 

What John Mark did after this journey we do not 
know, till we find him at Rome, in the year 63, per- 
forming signal service for St. Paul during his imprison- 
ment. 

The apostle speaks advantageously of him in his 
Epistle to the Colossians : " Marcus, sister's son to Bar- 
nabas, saluteth you. If he cometh unto you, receive 
him." He makes mention of him again in his Epistle 
to Philemon, written in the year 63, at which time he 
was with St. Paul at Rome ; but in the year 67 he was 
with Timothy in Asia. And St. Paul, writing to Timo- 
thy, desires him to bring Marcus to Rome — adding, that 
he was useful for him in the ministry of the Gospel.* 

* It is highly gratifying to find John Mark thus restored to the confi- 
dence of the apostle Paul, which he had forfeited by his weakness under 
the first trials of missionary life. The charitable hopes of Barnabas 
were thus justified. 



CLEMENT. 



609 



In the Greek and Latin churches, the festival of 
John Mark is kept on the 27th of September. Some 
say that he was bishop of Biblis, in Phoenicia. The 
Greeks give him the title of apostle ; and say that the 
sick were cured by his shadow only. It is very probable 
that he died at Ephesus, where his tomb was very much 
celebrated and resorted to. He is sometimes called 
simply John or Mark. The year of his death we are 
strangers to; and shall not collect all that is said of 
him in apocryphal and uncertain authors. 



OLEMEl^T. 

Clement is mentioned by St. Paul, in his Epistle to 
the Philippians, where the apostle says that Clement's 
name is written in the book of life. The generality of 
the fathers, and other interpreters, make no question 
but that this is the same Clement who succeeded Linus 
and Cletus in the government of the church of Rome ; 
and this seems to be intimated, when in the office of 
St. Clement's day, that church appoints this part of the 
epistle to the Philippians to be read. 

We find several things relating to Clement's life in 
the Recognitions and Constitutions called apostolical ; 
but as those works are not looked upon as authentic, 
though there may be truths in them derived from the 
tradition of the first ages, little stress is to be laid upon 
their testimony. St. Chrysostom thinks that Clement, 
mentioned by St. Paul in his epistle to the Philippians, 
39 



610 



LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. 



was one of the apostle's constant fellow-travellers. Ire- 
ngeus^ Origen, Clemens of Alexandria, and others of the 
ancients assert, that Clement was a disciple of the apos- 
tles ; that he had seen them and heard their instructions. 
Tertullian and Epiphanius say, that St. Peter ordained 
Clement. Rufinus tell us, that this apostle chose St. 
Clement for his successor. But Epiphanius believes 
that after he had been made bishop of Rome by St. 
Peter, he refused to exercise his office, till, after the 
death of Linus and Anaclet, he was obliged to take upon 
' himself the care of the church ; and this is the most 
generally received opinion. St. Peter's immediate suc- 
cessor was Linus : Linus was succeeded by Anacletus ; 
and Anacletus by Clement, in the year of Christ 91, 
which was the tenth of Domitian's reign.* 

During his pastorate, the church of Corinth having 
been disturbed by a spirit of division, St. Clement wrote 
a large letter to the Corinthians, which is still extant, 
and was so much esteemed by the ancients, that they 
read it publicly in many churches ; and some have been 
inclined to range it among the canonical writings. The 
emperor Domitian intended to declare war against the 
church of Christ : his design was made known to Her 
mas, and he ordered to give a copy of it to Clement, 
that he might communicate it to other churches, and 
exhort them to provide against the storm. We have 
no certain account of what happened to St. Clement, 
during this persecution : but we are very well assured 

* These conflicting traditions or conjectures all proceed upon the hypo- 
thesis that there was but one bishop in Kome at a time. But as there 
were many in Ephesus (Acts 20), and several in Philippi (Phil. i. 1), why 
not several at once in Rome ? 



CLEMENT. 



611 



that lie lived to the third year of Trajan. His festival 
is set down by Bede, and all the Latin Martyrologies, 
on the twenty-third of November. The Greeks honor 
him on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of the same 
month. Rufinus, and pope Zozimus, give him the title 
of martyr ; and the Roman church, in its canon, places 
him among the saints who have sacrified their lives for 
Jesus Christ. 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS AND MARTYRS 



FROM THE 

Jet €t\\tm^ k i\t "^^timmhn. 



SIMEOE". 

In passing from the first to the second century of the 
Christian era, the most illustrious martyr of Jewish 
lineage was Simeon, bishop of the church of Jerusalem. 
Eusebius informs us (on the authority of Hegesippus), 
that he was the son of Cleophas, brotlier of Joseph, and 
consequently Avas a cousin of our Lord. His martyrdom 
fell in the reign of the emperor Trajan, when he was at 
the extreme age of 120 years. As he immediately suc- 
ceeded the apostle James, called the Just, his pastorate 
must have continued about fifty years.* 

Born of the family of our Lord, Simeon in his earliest 
years was a resident of Nazareth in Galilee. Hegesip- 
pus says the death of Joseph followed not long after the 
Passover mentioned in the second chapter of Luke, and 
if Mary and Jesus, as Neander suggests, made the family 
of Cleophas their home, Simeon must have been per- 
sonally intimate with Jesus, and was probably among his 
early disciples, if not one of the Seventy. With the 
church in Jerusalem he was therefore identified from 

* A bishop, in those times, was only one of a number of elders, on 

whom devolved the care of a single church. Phil. i. 1. 
(612) 



SIMEON. 



618 



the beginning, and tliougli not himself an apostle, was 
eminently an apostolic man. In all the glorious scenes 
of conversion and the trying seasons of persecution, 
which followed the day of Pentecost, he bore a part with 
that mother church of Christendom. He was familiar 
with its history in all that critical period when true 
Judaism received its full and final development into 
Christianity which, by the effulgence of new light from 
heaven, henceforth shone with surpassing spiritual glory. 

The death of the apostle James, A. D. 62, has been 
formerly related. Four years later, at the outbreak of 
the Jewish war, which is fully sketched in the appended 
history of the Jews, when Cestius retreated, an op- 
portunity was afforded for the Christians of Jerusalem 
to flee from the devoted city, according to the direction 
of our Lord. Josephus notices the fact that many of 
the citizens did flee that very night, without specifying 
that they were Christians. Crossing the Jordan, into 
the mountain regions under the jurisdiction of King 
Agrippa, who had taken side with the Komans, the 
Christians found in the city of Pella a secure refuge 
through all the bloody war which ended in the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem. 

The church reorganized in Pella, still retained its origi- 
nal name as the church of Jerusalem, and Simeon, at 
the age of 75, was now its senior pastor. This import- 
ant office he held till his death. Under him, we learn, it 
flourished with increasing vigor. " Great numbers of 
the circumcision," says Eusebius, " came over to the 
Christian faith at that time, one of whom, Justus, was 
his successor." 

With the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, the 



614 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



divinely established forms of Judaism having attained 
their object, perished forever. Christianity, its inner 
life, now came forth before the world is all its distinct- 
ness, freedom, and sjDiritual beauty; Christ its only 
High Priest and Sacrifice, and his followers " a holy 
nation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood," having 
immediate access to God through faith. It was the lot 
of Simeon to guide the Jewish-Christian church under 
his care through this period of transition, and his high 
honor to have done it well. 

Three times during his long pastorate, Simeon was 
exposed to imminent danger from the jealousy entertained 
by the Koman government of the royal family of David. 
Under Yespasian first, then Domitian, and finally under 
Trajan, rumors were spread which led to the arrest and 
examination of the surviving members of that now 
poor and depressed family, of which Simeon was one. 
The last of these jealous trials gave him the martyr's 
crown as a Christian. According to Hegesippus and 
Eusebius, the venerable old man, together with his 
nephews, the surviving sons of the Apostle Jude, was 
accused before Atticus the Roman governor, during a 
popular insurrection of the rebellious Jews, by the envy 
of certain heretics. For three days he was put to the 
torture, which he bore with a serenity that astonished 
the judge and his attendants. He was then ordered to 
be crucified, and thus finished his life and labors in like 
manner with his Lord. 

Hegesippus, the Jewish-Christian historian (A. D. 175), 
who records his death through the false accusation 
of heretics, adds this valuable testimony on the state 
of the Christian church in this early time. " The 



IGNATIUS. 



615 



churcli continued until then (A. D. 115) as a pure and 
uncorrupt virgin ; whilst if there were any at all that 
attempted to pervert the sound doctrine of the saving 
gospel, they were yet skulking in dark retreats. But 
when the sacred choir of the apostles became extinct, 
and the generation of those that had been privileged 
to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then 
also the combinations of impious error arose by the 
fraud and delusions of false teachers. These also, as 
there were none of the apostles left, henceforth attempt- 
ed, without shame, to preach their false doctrine against 
the doctrine of truth." 

Let us bless God that though the apostles are dead, 
we have the writings of the apostles as a light to guide 
the church forever. (2 Pet. i. 14-21.) 



IGI^ATIUS. 

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch in Syria from A. D. 75, 
surnamed Theophorus for his eminent piety, suffered 
martyrdom under the Emperor Trajan. From his 
Acts" and "Epistles," published by Archbishop Usher 
in 1647, we learn the circumstances, as well as the char- 
acter and spirit of this eminent man. The Acts were 
written by the eye-witnesses of his sufferings. They repre- 
sent him as a man in all things like the apostles. " By 
the constancy of his doctrine and spiritual labors, he op- 
posed himself to the floods of the adversary. lie was like 
a divine lamp, illuminating the hearts of the faithful by 
his exposition of the holy Scriptures." To preserve his 
church, he scrupled not to expose himself to the bitter 



616 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



death. The church at Antioch, let it be remembered, 
was the mother church of the Gentile Christians, as 
J erusalem was of the Jewish ; and from the first had been 
distinguished for its numbers, liberality, culture, and 
missionary zeal. 

The policy of Trajan toward the Christians, we learn 
from his celebrated letter to Pliny the younger, whom 
he had appointed governor of Bithynia and Pontus, 
A, D. 103. He forbids search to be made for them or 
anonymous letters against them to be regarded ; but if 
when jDublicly accused, they will not deny Christ, he 
commands them to be put to death. Strange mixture 
of humanity with the highest injustice and cruelty. 

As a general rule the early Christians did not approve 
of those who, uncalled, offered themselves as martyrs. 
But when Trajan came to Antioch A. D. 115, on his 
way to the Parthian war, Ignatius, trembling for the 
safety of his numerous flock, and hoping to avert the 
storm from them by the sacrifice of his own life, volun- 
tarily presented himself before him. On learning who 
he was, the emperor, perhaps irritated by his apparent 
audacity, said to him : " What an impious spirit art 
thou, both to transgress our command, and to inveigle 
others, into the same folly to their ruin !" 

Ignatius. " Theophorus ought not to be called im- 
pious ; forasmuch as all wicked spirits are departed from 
the servants of God. 

Trajan. " Pray? who is Theoj)horus." 

Ignatius. " He who has Christ in his breast." 

Trajan. " And thinkest thou not that gods reside in 
us also, who fight for us against our enemies ?" 

Ignati us. You mistake in calling the demons of the 



IGNATIUS. 



617 



nations by the name of God. For there is only one 
God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that 
is in them, and one Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, 
whose kingdom be my portion." 

Trajan. " His kingdom, do you say, who was cruci- 
fied under Pilate ?" 

Ignatius, " His, who crucified my sin with its author; 
and has put all the fraud and malice of Satan under the 
feet of those who carry him in their heart." 

Trajan. " Dost thou then carry him who was cruci- 
fied within thee ?" 

Ignatius. ^'1 do, for it is written, I will dwell in 
them and walk in them." 

Then Trajan pronounced this sentence : " Since Igna- 
tius confesses that he carries within himself him that 
was crucified, we command that he be carried bound by 
soldiers to great Kome, there to be thrown to the wild 
beasts for the entertainment of the people." Such was 
the sentence of an emperor, whom the Romans for ages 
called Optimus, the Best ! 

Ignatius was now taken down to Seleucia, the port of 
Antioch, and put on board a ship sailing for Smyrna 
Here he had the opportunity of seeing his friend Poly- 
carp, the youthful pastor of that church, and also depu- 
ties from the other churches in that region. Here also 
he wrote two of his three genuine epistles, namely those 
to Ephesus and Rome.* 

Nothing lies more on his heart in his epistles, than to 
recommend to the churches the most perfect unity and 
concord. He represents Christians as all united in Jesus 

* Cureton, Rawlinson and Bunsen allow only this number, and no more 
are found in the Syriac. 



618 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



Christ; all partaking of the same spiritual life. He 
urges them to preserve their faith and order, to reject 
heresies, and watch against all dissension and division. 
He adds, " Yet pray earnestly for other men without 
ceasing : for there is hope of conversion in them, that 
they also may be brought to God. Give them an oppor- 
tunity to be instructed, at least by your works. With- 
out Christ thinking nothing : — in him I carry about my 
bonds — spiritual jewels ; in whom may I be found in the 
resurrection. Kemember me, as Jesus Christ also does 
you." 

The desire of martyrdom in this venerable man appears 
to us excessive. His enthusiasm is morally sublime, as 
may be seen in his letter to the Christians of Kome, in 
which he begs them to do nothing to procure his release. 
In view of his approaching death he exultingly exclaims, 
" Now I begin to be a disciple ; nor shall any thing 
move me of things visible or invisible : — ^let fire and the 
cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of 
bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole 
body, and all the malice of the devil come upon me ; be 
it so, only may I enjoy Jesus Christ. It is better for me 
to die for Jesus Christ than to reign over the ends of the 
earth. Him I seek who died for us. Him I desire who 
rose again for us. My worldly affections are crucified ; 
the fire of God's love burns within me, and cannot be 
extinguished ; it lives, it speaks, and says. Come to the 
Father." 

From Smyrna, the self-devoted martyr was hurried, 
as soon as the wind would allow, to Troas, (whence he 
wrote to Polycarp,) and thence to Neapolis, and through 
Macedonia and Epirus, to Kome, to be in season for the 



i; 



POLYCARP. 



619 



annual public spectacles in the amphitheatre. He there 
had his wish — the wild beasts were his sepulchre. A few 
bones only were left, which were collected by his deacons 
and carried back to Antioch. 



POLTO AEP. 

The sixth year of the emperor Marcus Aurelius w^as 
marked by the martyrdom of the aged and illustrious 
Polycarp, who for more than seventy years had been a 
bishop of the church in Smyrna. According to Irenseus, 
he had been educated under the last of the apostles, 
and ordained by them to the pastoral office in that city. 
Usher hence concludes that this was before the date of 
the Apocalypse, A.D. 95, and that he was the " angel of the 
church" there addressed. He has been mentioned already 
as the friend of Ignatius, who addressed to him one of 
his three epistles. His own epistle to the Philippians is 
still extant, and gives a very pleasing view of his mind 
and character. The pagans themselves bore unwilling 
testimony to his lifelong influence when they denounced 
him as "the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, 
and the destroyer of our gods." 

Eusebius tells us of a visit made by this apostolic man 
to Anicetas, bishop of Rome, about A.D., 150, to quiet a 
controversy then agitated on the observance of Easter. 
Though failing to effect an agreement of opinion, on a 
point purely traditional, they agreed to differ amicably. 

But the visit was of great importance in reclaiming 
many from the errors of the Doceta), then propagated in 



620 



LIVES OF EMIXEJ^T CHRISTIAXS. 



that city bv Marcioii. The heresiarch, unable to. resist 
the weight of Polvcarp's testimony to the true apostolic 
doctrine, claimed falsely to be of the same belief with 
him, and meeting him publicly on one occasion said, 
" Polycarp, own us/' to which the indignant old man 
replied, I own you as the first-born of Satan," i. e. as 
an Antichrist. This is precisely in the spirit of his 
teacher, the ajDostle John, in his first and second epis- 
tles, in respect to such deceitful workers. 

From a letter addressed by the church of Smyrna to 
her sister churches generally, quoted at length by Euse- 
bius, we learn the particulars of the persecution in 
which he, with many others of less note, suffered unto 
death. 

He had not designed to leave the city for safety, but 
yielded to the urgent entreaties of his flock, and retired 
to a farm-house not far distant. Here he was tracked 
by his pursuers. Convinced that his time was come — of 
which he had been forewarned in a dream and had fore- 
warned his friends — he delivered himself up with gentle 
dignity, ordering for them a bountiful meal, while he 
devoted an hour to fervent prayer. 

When brought before the proconsul, that high ofiicial, 
who had just before succeeded in persuading one Quintus 
to swear bv the gods and sacrifice his salvation to his 
fears, attempted the same thing with Polycarp. Over 
and over again he urged him. " Swear by the fortune 
of Csesar — swear, and I will release thee; reproach 
Christ." Polycarp (then about a hundred years old) 
replied : 

"Eighty and six years have I served him, and he 
never wronged me ; and how can I blaspheme my King 



POLYCARP. 



621 



who hath saved me ? — I am a Christian ; and if you 
desire to learn the Christian doctrine, assign me a day, 
and hear." 

" I have wild beasts,'' said the proconsul ; " I will ex- 
pose you to them unless you repent." 

" Call them," replied the martyr. Our minds are 
not to be changed from the better to the worse ; but it 
is a good thing to be changed from evil to good." 

Proconsul. " I will tame your spirit by fire, unless you 
repent." 

Polycarp. " You threaten me with fire which burns 
for a moment ; but you are ignorant of the future judg- 
ment, and of the fire of eternal punishment reserved 
for the ungodly. But why do you delay ? Do what 
you please." 

The proconsul was visibly embarrassed. The people 
demanded that Polycarp should be given to the lions, 
but as the Asiarch pronounced the time for the opening 
of the amphitheatre past, he was ordered to be burnt 
alive. 

As they were about to fasten him to the stake, he 
said : " Let me remain as I am ; for he who gives me 
strength to sustain the fire, will enable me to remain 
unmoved. Placing his hands behind him, the heroic 
man then offered a prayer, closing with these words : 

0 God, I bless thee that thou hast counted me worthy 
of this day and this hour, to receive my portion in the 
number of martyrs, in the cup of Christ, for the resur- 
rection to eternal life both of soul and body, in the in- 
corruption of the Holy Ghost ; among whom may I be 
received before thee this day, as a sacrifice acceptable. 
Wherefore I praise thee for all things. I bless thee, I 



622 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



glorify thee, by the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, 
thy well-beloved Son : through whom, with him, in the 
Holy Spirit, be glory to thee, both now and forever. 
Amen." 

The fire was then lighted, but the rising wind swept 
the flame away from his body in so wonderful a manner, 
that he was finally despatched by the thrust of the exe- 
cutioner's sword. His brethren applied to the authori- 
ties for his body, but the Jews opposed its delivery to 
them, saying that "leaving the Crucified One, they 
would worship him :" on which the letter of the church 
of Smyrna remarks : " It is not possible for us to for- 
sake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of all who 
are saved of the human race, nor ever to worship any 
other. For we adore him as being the Son of God; 
but we justly love the martyrs as disciples of the Lord." 
Had these just views continued to prevail in after ages, 
we should have heard nothing of invocation of the 
Saints and of the Virgin Mary. 

The centurion, to avoid a tumult, finally burnt the 
body. The few bones remaining, "more precious than 
gold and jewels" to his affectionate church, were gath- 
ered and buried, and the day of his martyrdom was 
annually commemorated by them as his birthday to a 
better life. It is to be regretted that a custom at first 
so pure and innocent, was after the lapse of two cen- 
turies perverted into gross superstition. 



JUSTIN MARTYR. 



623 



JUSTI]^ MAETYE. 

This distinguished Christian philosopher, writer, and 
martyr, was born at Neapolis, the ancient Schechem or 
Sichem, in Samaria, near the beginning of the second 
century of our era. His father was a Gentile. 

Justin in his youth travelled for the improvement of 
his understanding, and in Alexandria sought from the 
philosophic schools the knowledge of Glod for which he 
thirsted. He began with the Stoics, and not finding 
satisfaction, tried in succession the Peripatetics, the 
Pythagorians, and the Platonists. Fascinated for a 
time with the latter, he gave himself up to study and 
retirement. But God had better things in store for 
him. 

One day, as he was walking by the sea-shore, he met 
a venerable stranger, whose countenance arrested his 
attention. He says : " We soon entered into conversa- 
tion, and upon my professing a love for private medita- 
tion, the venerable old man hinted at the absurdity of 
mere speculation, abstracted from ^^ractice. This gave 
occasion for me to express my ardent desire of knowing- 
God, and to expatiate on the praises of philosophy. 
The stranger by degrees endeavored to cure me of my 
ignorant admiration of Plato and Pythagoras ; he 
pointed out the writings of the Hebrew prophets as 
much more ancient than any of those called philoso- 
phers, and he led me to some view of the nature and 
evidences of Christianity; adding, ^ Above all things 
pray that the gates of light may be opened to you, for 



624 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



they are not discernible, nor to be understood, except 
God and his Christ cause a man to understand.' I saw 
him no more, but immediately a fire was kindled in my 
soul, and I had a strong affection for the prophets and 
for those men who are the friends of Christ. I weighed 
within myself the arguments of the aged stranger, and 
in the end I found the divine Scriptures to be the only 
sure philosophy." 

His conversion took place early in the reign of x\drian, 
and his subsequent life proves that it was the deep, vital 
work of the Holy Spirit, which abideth forever. He 
owns however that he was greatly confirmed in his faith 
by the example of suffering Christians. 

He still continued to wear the philosopher's garb to 
which he was accustomed, partly from taste and habit, 
and partly because it gave him access to that class of 
men to whose conversion he mainly devoted himself. 

His pen was consecrated to the cause of truth. He 
defended the gospel against the philosophizing heretics 
of his times, and wrote an Address and an Exhortation 
to the Gentiles — the first philosophic defence of Chris- 
tianity that has come down to our times. 

He wrote two Apologies for the Christians, which he 
presented to the emperor and senate of Rome, under 
Adrian, Pius Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius 
Yerus. These are extremely valuable for their facts and 
expositions, showing what Christianity is, and how un- 
just were the laws which made the mere profession of 
it by thousands of the purest men and women a capital 
crime against the State. 

Justin's Dialogue Avith Trj'pho, the Jew, is regarded 
by Dr. Adam Clarke as the most valuable of his works. 



IREN^US. 



625 



It is divided into three parts : in the first, he refutes the 
erroneous notions of the Jews about the law: in the 
second, he shows the divine nature of Christ, and proves 
that he was incarnate for our salvation ; in the third he 
shows how the calling of the Gentiles was prefigured in 
the law, and foretold by the prophets. 

About the year 163, Justin was accused as a Chris- 
tian by the philosopher Crescene, a vile and malig- 
nant man, who took offence at his teachings. He was 
arrested and brought before Rusticus, the prefect of 
Rome, who had been the tutor of Marcus Aurelius. 
Before him he made a noble profession of his faith, and 
was condemned to be first scourged and then beheaded, 
to which he joyfully submitted, in the certain hope of 
everlasting life. 



lEEisr^us. 

This eminent writer and martyr, for many years 
pastor of the church in Lyons, Gaul, was of Greek 
origin, and forms the connecting link between Asia 
Minor and Western Europe. His Christian instructors 
were Papias, of Hieraj)olis, and Polycarp, of Smyrna. 
The latter made the deepest impressions upon him in 
his early years, as appears from his letter to Florinus, 
which he wrote late in life, and is a beautiful testimony 
to his renowned teacher, as well as to the primitive 
truths of Christianity. We shall quote it hereafter. 

The church in Lyons was a colony from the church 
in Smyrna ; and Pothinus, its first pastor, was from 
thence. Irenaeus assisted this venerable man, and on 

40 



626 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHMSTIANS. 



his martyrdom, in 169, was chosen his successor. The 
post was no sinecure. Seldom has a pastor been tried 
more severely, by persecutions without, and heresies 
within the church. Irenseus seems to have been en- 
dowed with the very qualities of mind required for the 
occasion. His magnanimity, discrimination, prudence, 
and fidelity, appear in all that we know of him. As 
his name imports, he was a man of peace ; and when 
Victor, Bishop of Eome, in 196, haughtily pronounced 
his excommunication on all the churches of Asia 
Minor, solely because they differed from him in the 
insignificant Easter controversy, he did not hesitate to 
rebuke him as the arbitrary disturber of the liberty and 
peace of Christendom. We may here remark, that this 
a.ct of Victor is the first instance in ecclesiastical history 
of the usurpation of power over other churches by the 
Church of Rome, and that it then was met by universal 
and- indignant denial, as it deserved to be. A century 
before, Clement of Rome, in his Epistle to the Corinthi- 
ans, set up no such claim of jurisdiction, and breathed 
an entirely different spirit. 

The labors of Irenseus in Gaul were of the most 
evangelical and enduring character. Though a Greek 
scholar, writing, if not regularly preaching to his flock 
in that language, he diligently acquired the Celtic lan- 
guage of the country, in order to reach and convert the 
natives. 

His book on Heresies, is almost all of his writings 
that has escaped the ravages of time. In this he 
analyzes and dissects all the fanciful schemes of corrupt 
doctrine, then propagated under the Christian name, 
usually pointing out their unscriptural origin and their 



IREN^US. 



627 



evil tendency. He writes in a grave and discriminating, 
as well as pious spirit, which shows how well he was 
qualified for writing on more experimental and practical 
topics. 

His early acquaintance with apostolic men, like Pa- 
pias and Polycarp, enabled him to make a very proper 
appeal to the living tradition of the apostolic churches 
against the novel theories of the heretics. The argu- 
ment was then pertinent and valid, as confirmatory of 
the evidence of the Scriptures^ which the heretics of 
that age attempted by forgeries and interpolations to 
set aside. This argument has been wretchedly abused 
in modern times, particularly by the Church of Kome. 
And in a country like ours, where all have the Scrip- 
tures in their own tongue, and are able to search them, 
it must be less conclusive, even if not dangerous to the 
real lovers of divine truth. As every one must give 
account of himself to God, we owe it to him, and to 
our own souls, like the noble Jews of Berea, to search 
the Scriptures daily, and see whether the things taught 
us are really so. The disposition to do this, prayerfully 
and earnestly, proves that we are under the influence 
of the Holy Spirit. The Bible, and not tradition, is 
now, as in the time of the Saviour, the test of truth. 

The following extract from the letter of Irenaeus, late 
in life, to the heretic Florinus, gives a beautiful life- 
like picture of his youth. " I saw you, when I was very 
young, in the Lower Asia, with Polycarp. For I better 
remxcmber the affairs of that time, than those that have 
lately happened — the things which we learn in our 
childhood growing up in the soul and uniting them- 
selves to it. Insomuch, that I can tell the place in 



628 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



which the blessed Polycarp sat and taught, and his 
going out and coming in, and the manner of his life, 
and the form of his person, and his discourses to the 
people ; and liow he related his conversation with John 
and others who had seen the Lord ; and how he related 
their sayings, and what he had heard from them con- 
cerning the Lord, both concerning his miracles and his 
doctrines, as he had received them from the eye-wit- 
nesses of the Word of Life : all of which Polycarp re- 
lated agreeably to the Scriptures. These things I then, 
through the mercy of God toward me, diligently heard 
and attended to, recording them, not on paper, but upon 
my heart." 

A man who could say all this, makes a legitimate 
application when he says to Florinus, in reference to 
his errors, " These doctrines, those who were presbyters 
before us — those lolio had loalked with the Apostles — did 
not deliver to you." Indeed, few writers of antiquity 
are more clear and decided on the fall of man, and his 
recovery by an incarnate Saviour, than Ireneeus. 

This excellent man suffered martyrdom under the 
Emperor Severus. Of the manner, all we learn is, that 

after several torments, he was put to death, and, to- 
gether with him, almost all the Christians in that popu- 
lous city — so that the streets of Lyons flowed with 
Christian blood." (A. D. 205.) 



THEOPHILUS. 



629 



THEOPHILUS. 

Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, in Syria, from A. D., 
167 to 181, was a man of the most extensive Greek 
learning and culture. He wrote a work of much repu- 
tation on the Christian religion, in three books, ad- 
dressed to Autolycus, a heathen, who had exultingly 
challenged him, saying, " Show me thy God." Theophi- 
lus, who had been a learned heathen himself before 
his conversion, in this work takes up the challenge. 

His style is pleasing, and in the first book highly or- 
namented. He here shows that God cannot be seen but 
by the eyes of the understanding, purified from sin ; 
that he cannot be represented by any corporeal image, 
because his perfections infinitely surpass our conceptions ; 
yet may be known by his works and providence ; and 
he will be seen when men are delivered from mortalit}^ 
and corruption. He then argues in support of the 
resurrection ; proves the reasonableness of believing it ; 
shows that in many arts and sciences which concern the 
support and comfort of life, nothing is brought to an 
issue without faith, and that nature is full of striking 
analogies ; and closes the book by illustrating the vari- 
ous names, and titles, and relations by which God has 
made himself known to Christians. The second book 
enters into a fuller exposition of Christianity ; and the 
third shows its immense superiority in every respect to 
Paganism, in antiquity, theology, morality, and hap- 
piness. 

Tlieophilus is said to be the first author who employs 



630 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHEISTIANS. 



the word Trinity, in defining the divine nature as re- 
vealed. Dr. Adam Clarke thinks it noteworthy that in 
the same city (Antioch) where the disciples were first 
called Christians, the sacred persons in the Godhead 
were first called the Trinity. 



ATHEI^AGOEAS. 

This learned Christian flourished during the reigns 
of Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius 
Yerus, — that is, from A.D. 117 to 180, — and long 
before Pantaenus was president of the Alexandrian 
Catechetical School, where so many eminent men were 
educated. This last fact gives him an important place 
in history. 

His conversion was remarkable. Philip Sidetes, a 
writer of the fourth century, says that Athenagoras was 
originally a heathen philosopher (probably of Athens), 
who, designing to write against the Christians, thought 
it necessary to read their Scriptures to make his work 
the more complete. The result was very different from 
the design; for by examining the Scriptures he was con- 
verted to the Christian faith, and, like Paul, applied his 
noble faculties to defend and diffuse the precious truth 
he had sought in his ignorance and prejudice to destroy. 

Two of his works yet remain — his Legation, or 
Apology for the Christians, and his treatise on the 
Resurrection of the Dead ; both works of great merit 
for the thoroughness of the discussions. In the former, 
which is addressed to Marcus Aurelius and his son 



ATHENAGORAS. 



631 



Commodus, lie justly complains, that "while all the 
nations subject to the Empire were permitted freely to 
worship the gods of their choice, and the most absurd 
superstitions were tolerated, the Christians alone, whose 
worship was simple, pure, and worthy of the Deity, 
were not only denied the liberty granted to all the rest, 
but were also unjustly maligned, slandered, and perse- 
cuted, while the whole of their accusation was their 
name." 

"If we are convicted of any crime, less or more, let 
us be punished ; but not merely for the name of a 
Christian — for no Christian can. be a bad man unless he 
acts contrary to his profession. 

" There is an infamous report that w^e are guilty of 
three great crimes, viz : impiety against the gods, feed- 
ing on murdered infants, and incestuous copulation. If 
these be true, spare neither age nor sex; punish us, 
with our wives and children ; exterminate us out of the 
world. But, if these be false and scandalous calumnies 
against us, notice them as such. Inquire into our lives, 
into our opinions, into our obedience to authority, our 
concern for your person and government ; allow us only 
that common justice and equity you grant your ene- 
mies, and we ask no more, being assured of the victory, 
and ready to lay down our lives for the truth. 

"Among us, the meanest day laborers, and old women, 
though not able to dispute about their profession, yet 
can demonstrate its usefulness in their lives and good 
works. Being buffeted, they strike not again ; nor sue 
those at law who spoil and plunder them ; they give 
liberally to those that ask, and love their neighbor as 
themselves. Thus we do, because we are assured there 



632 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHEISTIANS. 



is a God who superintends human affairs, who made 
both us and the whole world, and to whom we must at 
last give account." 

In his book on the Resurrection, he says, " Those who 
deny the resurrection of the dead, should prove, either 
that God cannot effect it, or that he will not. If he 
cannot, it must be because he lacks skill or power ; but 
his formation of- the human body refutes this suppo- 
sition. If he have the power, but will not do it, then 
it must be because it would be unjust in itself, or un- 
worthy of the divine nature. But neither of these can 
ever be proved." He argues for the identity of the 
risen body, on three grounds — the object of man's crea- 
tion ; the nature of man as an accountable being ; and 
from the justice of God, as the rewarder of good and 
evil. 



AccoKDiNG to the best accounts, Pantsenus, who filled 
for so many years the office of Catechist or President in 
the Alexandrian school, was a Jew by descent, but a 
native of Sicily. He was trained at Athens in the logic 
of Aristotle, and in the philosophy of the Stoics. The 
time and manner of his conversion are not recorded, but 
it was probably under Athenagoras, at Athens or Alex- 
andria, and the reality and power of this great spiritual 
change was demonstrated by its effects. 

" There were even yet," says Eusebius, referring to 
this period (A.D. 140-170), "many evangelists of the 



CLEMENT^ OF ALEXANDRIA. 



633 



word, who were ardently striving to employ their in- 
spired zeal after the apostolic example, to increase and 
build up the divine word ; of these Pantaenus is said to 
have been one." He went forth as a herald of the Gos- 
pel to the nations of the east, travelling as far as India. 
Even there he found that he had been preceded by the 
Apostle Bartholomew, who had left among his Jewish 
converts there a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, written 
in the Hebrew of that age, (the Aramsean.) 

On his return from his mission^ he was settled at 
Alexandria, as the successor of Athenagoras, though he 
is often called the first President. Eusebius tells us the 
school of the faithful had even then been established from 
ancient times. His great learning and prominent 
abilities raised his reputation very high. Clement of 
Alexandria, who had studied under many teachers in 
the east and west, became his pupil, despairing, he says, 
of ever finding his superior in abilities and in his knowl- 
edge of the Scriptures. He there continued until his 
death (A.D. 190), as Eusebius says, " commenting on the 
treasures of divine truth both orally and by his writings." 
His writings are lost, but his influence long lived in the 
character of his great pupils. 



CLEMEISTT, OF ALEXAI^DEIA. 

This eminent teacher and presbyter, of Alexandria, 
was at first a heathen philosopher, but on his conversion 
he became a pupil of Pantaenus, whom he succeeded in 
the Christian Catechetical School, or theological sem- 



634 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTAINS. 



inary, of that city. Panteenus, who had succeeded 
Athenagoras, after a presidency of ten years, had rested 
from his labors. Clement carried on the school for 
twelve years. But in the persecution of Septimus 
Severus, he was compelled to flee and visited Jerusalem 
and Antioch (A.D 203). 

Clement, in this visit, found Alexander, bishop of 
Jerusalem, in prison for the faith. He was delighted to 
form the acquaintance of this holy man, and carried 
with him, when he w^ent to Antioch, a letter from Alex- 
ander to the Antioch church : which breathes a primi- 
tive spirit. " Alexander, a servant of God, and a pris- 
oner of Jesus Christ, to the blessed church in Antioch, 
in the Lord, greeting : — Our Lord has made my bonds, 
in this time of my imprisonment, light and easy to me, 
while I understood that Aschpiades, a person admirably 
qualified, by his eminence in the faith, was by divine 
providence become bishop of your holy church of An- 
tioch. These letters, brethren, I have sent you by 
Clement, the blessed presbyter, a man of approved in- 
tegrity, whom ye both do know already, and shall still 
further know. He hath been here with us, according to 
the good will of God, and hath much established and 
augmented the church of Christ." After visiting An- 
tioch for a session, Clement returned to his labors in 
Alexandria. 

This famous school was then, perhaps, in the height 
of its glory. Origen, and others, who illustrated the 
next age by their learned writings and prodigious la- 
bors, were then training there, and such pupils reflect 
honor on their teachers. Yet it may be justly ques- 
tioned whether,- ttt this very time, the seeds of immense 



CLEMENTj OF ALEXANDEIA. 



635 



evil were not sown there, in the culture of philosophical 
systems, after the rudiments of the world, and not after 
Christ. 

How far Clement himself is responsible for these 
evils we cannot tell. He was himself an eclectic phi- 
losopher, or, to use his own words : " I espouse neither 
this nor that philosophy — neither the Stoic, nor the 
Platonic, nor the Epicurean, nor that of Aristotle ; but 
whatever any of these sects has said that is fit and just; 
whatever teaches righteousness, with a divine and re- 
ligious -knowledge ; all this I select, and call it phi- 
losophy." This certainly seems wise and liberal, and 
worthy of a good man, as Clement undoubtedly was. 
But what would be the effect upon his pupils, in a city 
like Alexandria, which prided itself upon its vast 
library, its learning, its liberal culture, and its philoso- 
phizing spirit? Would it not seem, to the ardent 
Christian young men, as if Pagan philosophy, in all its 
forms, was to be studied, for the attainment of true wis- 
dom, rather than the Scriptures ? And would they not, 
though undesignedly, be led away from the only true 
source of that wisdom which is unto salvation ? And 
would there not be danger that the Scriptures them- 
selves would be interpreted according to the philoso- 
phers, than the philosophers tested by the touchstone 
of God's word ? This danger was real, as the baleful 
results in the next century, and even for ages after- 
wards, sufficiently showed. 

" The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. 
Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 
The world by wisdom, knew not God. Beware of vain 
and deceitful philosophy, and opposition of science, falsely 



636 



LIVES OF EMINEXT CHRISTIAXS. 



SO called." The Christian world of this period, was fast 
forgetting these apostolic cautions, and drifting awaj' into 
a darkness that might be felt. 

But nothing could be farther from the intention of 
Clement. Here was his theory of instruction in his own 
words : ^' As the husbandman first waters the soil, and 
then casts in his seed, so the notions which I derive out 
of the writings* of the Gentiles, serve first to water and 
soften the earthy parts of the soul, that the spiritual 
seed may be the better cast in, and take vital root in 
the minds of men." This, certainly, is not the theory 
of the Apostles of Christ. They did not put Gentile 
philosophy at the foundation, nor believe that it would 
assist at all in rearing the heavenly structure of Chris- 
tianity. The philosophic religion of their times, they 
looked upon as so much rubbish to be cleared away ; and 
they asserted, with emphasis, the great axiom of the 
Gospel : ^' Other foundation can no man lay, than that 
is laid, Jesus Christ." 

Clement had travelled extensively in his youth, and 
his knowledge of Greek literature was great, yet he 
wrote but little. Only three or four of his books have 
come down to us. His Cohortation to the Greeks, his 
Pedagogue, his Stromata, or Miscellanies, are the prin- 
cipal. His crowning work, the Hypotypus, has lately 
come to light. 

Our space allows us only to notice the Pedagogue, 
which with much of allegory, and some pedantry, is 
allowed by all to be a collection of simple and sublime 
sentiments. It is not a treatise on the education of 
youth; as might be supposed from its name ; but it dis- 
cusses the moral discipline of Christians, men and 



CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. 



637 



women, who have become sincere disciples of Christ, 
the Divine Teacher. Clement says he gives it this name, 
not because Christianity is a puerile science ; on the con- 
trary, it is a science of the most exalted wisdom. His 
position is, that all the disciples of the truth are chil- 
dren, in regard to God ; and this he establishes by the 
Scriptures. All Christians are " little children," simple, 
sincere, modest, ingenuous, and free from guile. The 
Pedagogue who teaches these babes, is Christ, in whom 
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 
Clement is careful here to make an admirable distinc- 
tion. Infancy in Christ, he says, ought to be considered 
comparatively ; it is manhood, in comparison with Juda- 
ism ; perfect manhood, in comparison with Paganism, in 
its highest philosophical attainments. The most perfect 
Christian is, however, but a babe, compared with an 
apostle, as the most enlightened apostle is but a babe 
compared with Christ. 

The Alexandrian school was set up at first for such 
babes as Clement has here described ; but it degenerated 
into a school of monkish superstition and pride. The 
bare foot and the shaven crown, the abstemious diet and 
the nerveless sapience of contemplative indolence, de- 
tachment from the world, and a superstitious confidence 
in symbols, particularly a cross, had always distinguished 
the Egyptian priests, and in time they were the badges 
of Christian pupils! 



638 



LIVES OF EMIXEXT CHRI5TIAXS. 



TEETITLLIAX. 

Carthage, in Xorthem Africa, once the seat of tlie Car- 
thaginian greatness, now for four centuries reduced to a 
Eoman province, gave birth to the first of the Latin 
writers of the Church, Q. S. F. Tertullianus. He was 
born about A.D. IGO. His father was a Eoman centur- 
ion, who brought him up in heathenism, and while yet 
a heathen he devoted his mascuhne faculties to the study 
of rhetoric and law. Jerome implies, if he does not af- 
firm, that he went to Rome to perfect himself in these 
studies, and had become already famous as a juris- 
consult, before his conversion to Christianity. But if 
this were so, he must have afterwards returned to Car- 
thage, as all his writings indicate that African city as 
his residence. He therefore properly represents the 
Christianity of that region, and through him for the first 
time we gain any knowledge concerning its condition 
and progress there. 

The time and means of his conversion are not dis- 
tinctly recorded, but it is certain that his heart was pro- 
fotmdly affected and pervaded by the power of di^'ine 
grace. Christianity became, as Neander observes, the 
inspiring soul of his life and thought." Out of Christianity 
an entirely new and rich inner world developed itself to 
his mind; but the holy leaven had first to penetrate 
through and completely refine that fiery, bold, and 
withal rugged nature. We find new wine in an old 
bottle ; and the tang which it contracted there accounts 
for some of the inconsistencies in his life and writings. 



TEETULLIAN. 



639 



The civilization of his times proceeded from the differ- 
ence between the two great individualities of national 
character — the Greek and the Roman. In the Greek 
predominated the activity of the intellect — the scientific, 
speculative element. The Roman character was less 
mobile, as in its spirit, the practical church interest was 
so absorbing as to leave no room for the scientific ; the 
west was in want of an organ whereby the spirit that 
prevailed there could scientifically express itself. Such 
an organ was supplied by the church of North Africa in 
Tertullian — a man who united in himself the elements 
of the Roman and the Carthaginian character. Wanting 
the chaste sobriety of mind fo-r which Irenseus was dis- 
tinguished, though a foe to speculation, he could not 
resist the impulses of a profoundly speculative intellect ; 
and to the devout practically Christian element, he 
united a speculative one — destitute however of the 
regular form — which continued for a long time to operate 
through intermediate agencies in the western church, 
until it finally impregnated the mind of that great 
teacher of centuries, Augustine, in whom Tertullian once 
more appears under a transfigured form. 

Either at Rome or at Carthage he had been ordained 
one of the elders of the church ; all that we know is that 
for many years he exercised that office at Carthage, and 
a large part of his works were written while connected 
with the regular church in that city. 

But a great impression was made upon his peculiar 
temperament by the appearance of Montanism, with its 
claims to a more spiritual and elevated piety, and for a 
time at least he so far embraced them as to withdraw 



640 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



himself from the church and even wrote in defence of 
Montanism. 

As this forms an essential part of his history so it was 
by him that the principles which lie at the basis of Mon- 
tanism were systematically determined, and thereby 
made to have an influence on the theology of the west. 

Among the many ideas of this sect was this one : — that 
there were certain seasons or epochs of the outpouring 
of the Holy Ghost, through which the progressive 
development of the church w^as to be promoted ; a new 
momentum superadded to its ordinary course of develop- 
ment, and designed to complete what was lacking in it. 
In receiving this principle, and looking round for argu- 
ments to support it^ Tertullian endeavored to show the 
necessity of some such progressive development of the 
church, by pointing to a law running through all the 
works of God, in the kingdoms of nature and of 
grace. 

" In the works of grace," said he, " as in the works 
of nature, which proceed from the same Creator, every 
thing unfolds itself by certain successive steps. From 
the seed kernel shoots forth, first, the plant; then 
comes the blossom — and finally, this becomes the fruit, 
which itself arrives at maturity only by degrees. So, 
the kingdom of righteousness unfolds itself by certain 
stages. In the first place, there was the fear of God 
awakened by the voice of nature, without a revealed 
law (the patriarchal religion) ; next followed the stage 
of childhood under the law and the prophets ; then that 
of youth under the gospel ; and then the unfolding of 
the spiritual life to the ripeness of manhood, through 
the new outpouring of the Holy Spirit connected with 



TERTULLIAN. 



641 



the appearance of Montanus^ through the new instruc- 
tions of the promised Paraclete." 

This great man is said, bj some, to have returned to 
the church he had forsaken ; others say that he left the 
Montanists, and founded a separate communit}^ called 
Tertullianists, and a sect of that name existed two cen- 
turies later in the time of Augustine. As he retained 
firmly his attachment to orthodox doctrine in the main, 
he may have sought to combine, in a new organization, 
the best elements of both, without their attendant evils. 
He lived to a great age, but the year of his death is not 
known. 

The writings of Tertullian are too numerous to be 
enumerated here. They run through the widest range 
of topics relating to Christian doctrine and life ; and 
with all the defects justly imputed to them by Milner 
and others, contain, as Dr. A. Clarke observes, more 
information, in more energetic language, than most, or 
perhaps any of the fathers. His words are diamonds, 
and diamonds of the first water, with no more polish 
than is sufficient to show their excellent quality, and 
how capable they were of receiving additional splendor. 

One specimen, taken from his Apology for the Chris- 
tians, shall suffice to illustrate their numbers, spirit, 
and manners in his time, and also the style of the 
author. 

" We are but of yesterday, and yet we have filled all 
your towns, cities, islands, castles, boroughs, councils, 
camps, courts, palaces, senates, forum ; toe leave f/ou only 
your temples. 

" If we were disposed to return evil for evil, it were 
easy for us to revenge the injuries which we sustain. 

41 



642 LITE? or E:.iivEyr czEisriAvs. 

But. Go-^i :or':id tliat Lis people sli^uli j.:- :Lem- 

selve? hy 1: lire, or be relucTam to endure tliat by 
which their sincerity is r : :-.-e i. 

•■ Wt- a b:iy\:ni:^i in on- -n:^ ^: rnioi:n, oi- 

prayer, TTe are compciiri :o ha-n rrc^onrs- to the 
DiTine ' roiles. for caution, and recollection, on all occa- 
sions. "^Ve nourish our faitli bj thr Tr,:,ri r-"' Goi. ^-e 
erect our hope, we nx our confidence, we strrn^onen C'ur 
d:-:'^"i:ne. 'jv re^"eate^ily inculcating precc;::-, -xicnta- 
t::n-. : :rrr::::n-. an i ':y excr^niniunicatnai when it is 

great weiglit : and is a se-rious warning of the future 
jai_n:rnt. Those who wehae. an:n:_ ns. are elderly 
pers'jn-. n:" di-:h:_ahhri ":y ■n:aien:e. ':ut worthine — 
of c::a::.ctrr. Zvery cne vw"- - : nicthing into the onb- 
lic ch--t once a nnnth. '/"hen he T?leases. an;, aonrd- 
ing to his aiiiity and inclinati:n. :br there is n:- ccni- 
pulsion. These gifts are. as it were, tiie deposits of 
piety. Hence, we relieve ami '.nry tie? nee;.y. support 

This very charity of cnos has caused us to be noticed 
by some. • See." say they, ''how they love one another.' 

TTe one dead to all ideas of w.crldly honor and dig- 
nity : nothing is more foreign t j n- than ^::ii:iaci >:on- 
cerns : the whole world is our repnifaic. V\'e c'-^''i'' ^'-'i' 
the safety of the emperors, to the eternal God — the 
true, the livhig God — whom emp^erors themselves 
would :iehr- ";e ^n'niti'eus to them, aijove all other 

that are called gods Let the claws of wild beasts 

pierce us. or their feet trample on us. while our hands 



HIPPOLYTUS. 



643 



are stretched out to God; let crosses suspend us, let 
fires consume us, let swords pierce our breasts, — a pray- 
ing Christian is in a frame for enduring any thing." 



HIPPOLYTUS. 

This distinguished writer and martyr, was bishop of 
Portus, the port of Rome, which from the time of Tra- 
jan, had taken the place of ancient Ostia. From his 
position there, he held a seat in the Roman presbytery, 
or council of the bishop of Rome. He was a theological 
pupil of Irenseus, of Lyons, and had much of the spirit 
of his teacher, with a much wider range of learning and 
literary activity. 

From the time of Clement of Rome, for a whole cen- 
tury, that great metropolis of the world had produced 
but one solitary Christian author, if we except Justin 
Martyr, who was simply a resident there. That solitary 
exception was Hernias (brother of Pius, bishop of 
Rome, before Anicetus, A.D. 150), and he was a layman, 
and wrote but a single small book of ethical allegory, 
called " The Shepherd," which had more influence in the 
eastern churches than at home. But in the beginning 
of the third century, Hippolytus arose with a power 
and splendor far exceeding Caius, the Roman presbyter, 
and rivalling his other two great contemporaries, Ter- 
tullian, and Clement of Alexandria. 

The Roman Christians dealt little in speculation. 
Their bent was practical. They turned their attention 
mainly to the existing state and government of the 



644 



LIVES OF EillXEXT CHRISTIANS. 



Christian commouvvxaltli; of wliicli the metropolis was 
the natural centre. To give advice to the brethren in 
the provinces, viien they were in difficulties, to supply 
them with pecuniary aid. and help them by their influ- 
ence at the palace, was their peculiar office, and it con- 
stituted their peculiar pri\dlege and power. Sometimes, 
as in the case of Victor, thev exceeded their ris'htful 
power, and were then compelled to retract, by the re- 
action of the independent cliiirclies of Christendom. 
Fifty years later, C}^3rian of Carthage }delded a qualified 
supremacy to Eome, which was never allowed before, 
and which he afterwards constantly denied. 

The recent discovery (1S51) of the lost work of 
Hippolytus — Against all the Heresies" — puts us in 
possession of a vast treasure of new information, doub- 
ling our knowledge of earlier Christian antiquity. This 
greatest of all his works, among other things, lets in a 
light altogether new upon the internal history of the 
church of Rome, from A.D. 190 to A.D. 230. The 
genius of Dorner and Neander had divined, that during 
this period there must have been a theological struggle, if 
not a change of system, but the facts respecting it were 
unknown till now. These facts show, moreover, a fur- 
ther struggle, and change in regard to the constitution 
and discipline of the church itself, of most pernicious 
and portentotis import^ — namely, the abandonment of 
the fundamental principle of church purity, viz. : a con- 
verted ( i. e., spiritually regenerated) membership. This 
change, introduced by Calistus (A.D. 220), and after 
much resistance, confirmed by the election of Cornelius 
(A.D. 251). accotints for the most difficult phenomena in 
the subsequent history of the church of Eome, down to 



\ 



HIPPOLYTUS. 645 

this day. From Hippolytus, we learn that this lax sys- 
tem was artfully based upon a false interpretation of the 
parable of the tares, by a bishop, who, if we may credit 
Hippolytus, in his detailed account of his career, was 
only an artful hypocrite from the beginning, pre-emi- 
nently a tare among the wheat. The whole great re- 
actionary movement, culminating in Novatianism, is 
here for the first time truly explained. 

The assumption of spiritual power, which belongs 
only to God and the conscience, and the exercise of 
social and civil power by a hierarchy, which absorbs the 
rights of the congregation, as Bun sen remarks, were the 
two fundamental errors which led to the whole tragical 
complication, both as regards doctrine and discipline. 

The earliest writings of Hippolytus himself, begin* 
ning with his " Cause of the Universe," evidently belong 
to the reign of Severus (A.D. 191-211) ; but his "Refu- 
tation of all the Heresies," is among the latest, as it is 
the depository, not only of the historical learning, and 
theological and philosophical acuteness of the author, 
but of the leading events of his life, in connection with 
a great and difficult crisis of the church of Rome. 

To understand the epithets of ''most sweet," and 
" most benevolent," and, as Jerome calls him, " most 
eloquent;" to understand the unbounded admiration in 
which he was held in after ages, in the church of Rome, 
which canonized him as one of her noblest saints and 
martyrs, we must leave out of sight his controversy 
with Calistus, and look at him as the serene thinker, 
with his wide heart for the universality of God's love 
to mankind in Christ ; his glowing love of liberty, and 
of the free agency of man as being the specific organ of 



646 



LIYES OF EMIXENT CHRISTIANS. 



the Divine Spirit, and the only one congenial to the 
very nature of God. These are generally his distin- 
guishing features. 

His conviction that God works alone by the agency 
of the free spirit, and that, therefore, all exercise of 
authority is subordinate, in his eyes, to the fulfilment 
of the duties connected with it, made Hippolytus speak 
with a noble frankness of the regal, as well as episcopal 
authority. Though himself a bishop, he says : " An 
ungodly king is no longer a king, but a tyrant, nor is 
a bishop oppressed by ignorance, or by evil inclinations, 
any longer a bishop, but he is one falsely so called, 
chosen by men and not by God. It follows, therefore, 
that they will not escape his judgment. Neither let 
a bishop set himself up above the deacons and the presby- 
ters, nor, indeed, the presbyter above the people ; for the 
existence of the whole community rests on reciprocity." 

His life-long struggle for truth and right against false- 
hood and violence, was crowned by martyrdom, under 
the tyrant Maximin (A.D. 236-238). At first he was 
banished to Sardinia, together with Pontianas, then 
bishop of Kome ; but on his return, he was accused 
before the prefect of that city, and condemned to be 
bound on wild horses, and so torn to pieces. This fail- 
ing to kill him, he was despatched by a soldier's sword. 



Oeigex, surnamed Adamantius, from his strength of 
constitution and iron labors, was born in Alexandria, 



HIPPOLYTUS. 647 

A.D. 185. His father, Leonidas, was a Christian and a 
man of letters, who, early discerning the rare talents of his 
boy, gave him the best means of instruction, secular and 
religious, superintending the latter himself Every day, 
Origen committed, and recited to his father, some por- 
tion of the Scriptures, and gave evidence of early and 
earnest piety. The delighted father, it is said, would 
often kiss his bosom as he lay asleep, rejoicing over him 
as a living temple of the Holy Ghost. 

In the persecution of Severus, A.D. 202, Leonidas 
was thrown into prison, where his son exposed his life 
to visit him. But his anxious mother, to preserve her 
child, hid his clothes, and thus forcibly kept him at 
home. Origen then wrote to his father, entreating him, 
not even for their sakes, to faint in the hour of trial. 
The father was put to death, and his estate confiscated, 
and the widow was left with six helpless children, be- 
sides Origen, then but seventeen. A rich and pious 
woman received him into her house, and he still prose- 
cuted his studies, and his private methods of doing 
good. 

Origen had studied, under the famous Clement, in the 
Christian catechetical school, but the school had been 
broken up by the severity of the persecution. En- 
couraged by Demetrius, the bishop, and others who 
knew his purity of life, great attainments, and glowing 
zeal, he revived the school, and was appointed catecliist 
in the place of Clement, A.D. 204. He now freed him- 
self from dependence by selling his classical library to a 
man who agreed to pay him four oboles (about ten cents) 
a day, on which the young teacher managed to live, 
sleeping on the floor, going without shoes, and wearing 



648 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



but one coat. He even went so far, to avoid tempta- 
tion, or cut off occasion of offence, as to emasculate 
liimself. This he tried to keep a secret, but it could 
not be concealed, and was afterwards used against him 
by his enemies, including Demetrius, who seems on this 
account to have refused him ordination. Still, pupils 
from all quarters, both Christians and Pagans, sought 
his instructions, and many of the latter were by him 
converted to Christ ; several of whom became martyrs. 
His own life was in constant danger. He was sought 
for by the furious heathen, and only escaped by con- 
tinually changing his residence from house to house, 
and of course his school also. 

He was once seized, and, dressed in the robes of a 
priest of Serapis, was placed at the steps of the temple, 
with a branch of palm to distribute, in the usual way, 
to the worshippers of the idol. He did as he was bid- 
den, but said to each of the people, " Receive this palm, 
not of the idol, but of Christ." 

The inquisitive ardor of his mind led him to trace 
the vestiges of truth in all human systems, after the 
manner of his master Clement, who was an eclectic in 
philosophy. We may not doubt that he sought to sepa- 
rate the true from the false. But if he succeeded in 
holding fast what was good, it is certain that he did not 
reject much that was false and evil. From his book on 
First Principles, it appears that, as matters of faith, he 
held almost the entire system of Biblical theology, com- 
mon to Christians, reduced to systematic form ; but he 
retains, in that same book, as open questions, and avows 
as his own opinions, much that is totally inconsist- 
ent with these Biblical truths, and, as Bunsen himself 



ORIGEN. 



649 



admits, far beyond the boundaries of human reason. 
The atmosphere of philosophical speculation which he 
breathed in Alexandria ; a secret pride of intellect, too 
subtle to be detected by himself ; and a still more subtle 
spirit of self-righteousness, growing out of his self- 
denying habits of life ; combined to lead him away from 
the simplicity of the gospel, even while honestly set for 
its defence. He seems not to have known or respected 
the fixed limits of the human mind in reference to God 
and the universe. He would sound the Infinite. 

Hence, though a firm believer in the divine inspira- 
tion of the Scriptures, Origen applied to their interpre- 
tation an allegorical method borrowed from Plato and 
the heathen philosophers, by which they could be made 
to teach any thing he pleased. Besides the plain gram- 
matical and historical sense, he assigned to them a 
psychical^ or moral sense ; and beyond this, a spiritual, 
or rather allegorical sense, w^hich depends altogether 
upon the ingenuity of the interpreter. Thus, in Exod. 
i. 15-22, for example, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, repre- 
sents the Devil ; and the male and female children of 
the Hebrews are the rational and animal faculties of 
the soul — the former of which the Devil seeks to de- 
stroy, in order that man may become wholly sensual 
and devilish. The Midwives, are the Old and New 
Testaments ; Pharaoh's Daughter, is the Church, after 
she has left the house of her iniquitous father, and been 
bathed in the waters of baptism. And so the allegory 
runs on to the end of the history. 

Every friend of rational piety must lament that a 
man of so much learning and unaflected godliness, 
should not only adopt, but recommend a principle of 



650 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



Biblical interpretation so purely arbitrary, absurd, and 
dangerous ; before which every thing certain in the 
Oracles of God instantly vanishes. 

Origen is no sacramentalist. With him, baptism and 
communion are symbols of holy things, inwrought in the 
soul, through faith, and have no saving effect of them- 
selves. He says, exjDressly — " If any one is previously 
dead to sin, he of course is buried with Christ. But if any 
one does not before die to sin, he cannot be buried with 
Christ; for no one, while alive, is buried. But if he 
is not buried with Christ, neither is he legitimately 
baptized." 

About 212, Origen visited Rome, where he heard 
Hippolytus, and adopted from him the method of de- 
livering short discourses, called Homilies — generally 
expounding some passage of Scripture. In Greece, Pal- 
estine, and Cappadocia, afterwards, he formed the ac- 
quaintance of other eminent men, both orthodox and 
heretics. This liberal and courageous course made him 
more popular, if not more useful, on his return to Alex- 
andria. Many heretics there were converted, and 
among them Ambrosius, a rich layman, who became 
his warmest friend and helper. He learned the Hebrew 
language, to qualify himself for his two great works, 
the " Hexapla" and " Tetrapla." His work on First 
Principles was published at this time, prematurely, as 
he thought thirty years later. He also began to write 
and publish his commentaries on Scripture, a specimen 
of which we have given. 

In 236, Origen went to Palestine, with letters from 
Demetrius, and while there was ordained a presbyter in 
Cesarea, by Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem ; a step 



ORIGEN. 



651 



which, whether right or wrong, made Demetrius his 
enemy. An Egyptian synod was convened, and they 
pronounced Origen a heretic, particularly on account of 
his opinion in favor of the final salvation of all men, 
and even of Satan himself He was deposed from his 
ofQce as catechist of Alexandria, and never resumed it 
again, though it was given to his friend Heraclas. He 
was condemned also at Rome ; but found friends among 
the bishops of Greece, Phoenicia, Palestine, and Arabia. 
To one of these friends he wrote very mildly on the 
injustice of his enemies. " We must rather pity than 
hate them, rather pray for them than curse them ; for 
we are created to bless, not to curse." 

In 238, the persecution of Maximin threw many of 
his friends into prison, the presage of a death of torture. 
It was then that Origen wrote his powerful address on 
Martyrdom. For two years he was concealed in Cap- 
adocia ; whence he was called to Athens, in Greece. 

When Philip, the Arab, ascended the throne in 244, 
Origen carried on a correspondence with the royal 
family. In his reign, Origen, now about sixty, wrote 
his book against Celsus, a most happy apology for Chris- 
tianity against one of its acutest and bitterest enemies. 
He also visited Arabia, and succeeded, in a great coun- 
cil there, in reclaiming those who advocated the sleep 
of the soul between death and the resurrection. Here 
he learned that one of his pupils, Dionysius (who had 
succeeded Heraclas in the catechetical school), was 
chosen bishop of Alexandria. 

In the Decian persecution, 250, Origen was thrown 
into prison, and subjected to a series of tortures, to com- 
pel him to renounce his Christian faith. Old as he was, 



652 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



he bore them with patient fortitude, and was released. 
But in 254 he died^ in the hope of the Gospel^ being in 
his seventieth year; closing in peace a life of arduous 
labors almost without a parallel. His fame was clouded 
by many serious errors, yet he seems to have truly 
loved the Saviour, and zealously served him through a 
long life of self-deny big toil. The Christian world, for 
ages, was divided between the admirers and the op- 
posers of his voluminous writings. 



0 YPEI AE". 

The power of divine grace has seldom been more 
clearly manifested than in the conversion of Cyprian of 
Carthage. He was of Pagan descent, but of a wealthy 
family, and was a professor of oratory in that city. 
Like other idolaters he lived without God, or holiness, 
or hope of heaven, until through Cecilius, a presbyter 
of the church, he was brought to examine and embrace 
the Gospel. The change of heart which he then expe- 
rienced is thus beautifully described by himself in a 
letter to his friend Donatus. 

" Hear, then, what is felt before it is learnt, and is 
not collected by a long course of speculation, but is 
imbibed by the soul, through the compendium of grace 
ripening her as at once. While I lay in darkness and 
the night of paganism, and fluctuated uncertain and 
dubious in the sea of a tempestuous age, ignorant of my 
own life, alienated from light and truth, it appeared to 
me a harsh and diflicult thing, as my manners then 



CYPRIAN. 



653 



were, to obtain what divine grace had promised, that a 
man should be born again; and that being animated 
by regenerating love to a new life, he should strip him- 
self of what he was before, and though the body 
remained the same, he should in his mind become 
altogether a new creature. How can so great a change 
be possible, said I, that a man should at once and sud- 
denly put off what nature and habit have confirmed in 
him ? 

^^But after the new birth had made me a new 
creature indeed, immediately and in an amazing manner, 
dubious things began to be cleared up, things once shut 
to be opened, dark things to shine forth ; what before 
seemed difficult, now appeared feasible, and that was 
now evidently practicable, which had been deemed 
impossible. 

" Of God it is, — of God, I say, even all that we can 
do; thence we live, thence we have strength, and 
thence conceive and assume all vigor. What a power, 
what an energy is this ?" 

It is refreshing to find such a testimony in this age 
to experimental religion. It proves that the doctrines 
of grace, regeneration, and justification were yet cher- 
ished in the churches, and that their power was felt. 
Hence, without any great learning or philosophy, 
Cyprian rises as a Phoenix in the church, simple, j)rac- 
tical, earnest, liberal, devoted with all his heart and 
soul to the service of Christ. Like Barnabas he sold 
his estates to relieve the poor. 

The year after his conversion, 247, Cyprian was 
ordained a presbyter, and the next year was chosen 
bishop, that is the chief presbyter of the church. He 



654 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



did not seek this office, but yielded to the suffrages of 
his brethren, although five presbyters voted against 
him. 

He entered upon his office with integrity, and with 
sincere desire to discharge its duties in concert with his 
brethren. But the times were evil. The very next 
year, 249, the Decian persecution broke out in all its sys- 
tematic and pitiless fury, driving him into a reluctant 
retirement for two and a half years, and devouring his 
flock. From his retreat l*e wrote letters of warning, 
sympathy, and encouragement to his suffering brethren, 
which yet remain as a monument of his wisdom and 
love. 

To add to his sorrows, there was a division in the 
church of Carthage, headed by Felicisimus, one of the 
presbyters, who had voted against him. But on his 
return, in 251, this was gradually healed. This was 
the origin of his famous tract, "The Unity of the 
Church," in which he places- that unity in the agreement 
of the bishops, and recognizes, for the first time in 
history, the supremacy of Rome as the chair of St. 
Peter ; on which all the stupendous claims of that 
arrogant church were afterwards built. One is ready 
to exclaim, " Behold how great a matter a little fire 
kindle th !" His letter to Fidus laid the foundation also 
for a literal infant baptism, and infant communion. 

Under the reign of Gallus, for a short time, the perse- 
cution was renewed, but his death in 253 gave the 
Christians a respite of several years. These repeated 
persecutions led Cyprian to infer, that the end of the 
world was at hand. 

In 258 Valerian renewed the persecutions, and 



CYPRIAN. 



655 



though Cyprian, as before, escaped for a time, he was 
at length seized, and brought before the proconsul 
Paternus. 

" The sacred emperor Valerian and Gallienus have 
done me the honor to direct letters to me, in which 
they have decreed, that all men ought to adore the 
gods whom the Komans adore, and on pain of being 
slain with the sword. I advise you to consult for your- 
self and honor them." 

'^I am a Christian, and know no God but the one 
true God, who created heaven and earth. This God 
we Christians serve. We pray night and day for all 
men, and even for the emperors." 

" You shall die the death of a malefactor if you perse- 
vere in this inclination." 

" That is a good inclination which fears God, and 
therefore must not be changed." 

" You must, then, by the will of the princes, be 
banished." 

" He is no exile, who has God in his heart ; for the 
earth is the Lord's." 

" Tell me, before you go, where are your presbyters ?" 

" Your best princes forbid informers ; I ought not, 
therefore, to discover them. But you may find them ; 
you yourselves do not approve of Christians voluntarily 
offering themselves to you." 

" I will make you discover them by torments." 
By me they shall not be discovered." 

" Our principles have ordered that Christians hold no 
conventicles, and whoever breaks this rule shall be put 
to death." 

Cyprian calmly replied, Do as you are ordered." 



656 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



After some further attempts to work upon his fears, 
Paternus banished him to Curubes, a town fifty miles 
from Carthage. 

In 258, Cyprian returned from exile, by permission, 
living ori an estate near Carthage, which had been 
restored to him. Here he regulated the affairs of the 
church, and distributed what he had left. Here, also, 
he was seized by order of the new proconsul, and 
brought before his judgment seat. The first interroga- 
tion was, 

" Are you Thascius Cyprian ?" 

" I am." 

"Are you he whom the Christians call their bishop?" 
" I am." 

" Our princes have ordered you to worship the gods." 
" That I shall not do." 

" You will do better to consult your safety, and not 
despise the gods." 

" My safety and virtue is Christ the Lord, whom I 
desire to serve forever." 

" I pity your case and would wish to consult for you." 

" I do not wish that things should be otherwise with 
me, than that, adoring my God, I may hasten to him 
with all the ardor of my soul : for the afflictions of this 
persecution are not worthy to be compared with the 
glory that shall be revealed in us." 

" You have lived sacrilegiously a long time, and have 
formed into a society men of an impious conspiracy, 
and have shown yourselves an enemy to the gods and 
to the counsels of our princes. You have ever been 
a father and a ringleader to the impious sect ; you shall 
therefore be an example for the rest, and they shall 



NOYATIAN. 



657 



learn their duty by your blood. Let Thascius Cyprian 
be put to death by the sword." 

God be praised !" said the martyr. He was then 
led by the soldiers to the place of execution, followed 
by crowds of exulting Pagans and weeping Christians, 
bound the napkin over his eyes with his own hands, 
and calmly yielded his neck to the sword, in the atti- 
tude of prayer. 



ISTOYATIAl^. 

NoYATiAN, of Phrygia, was contemporary with Cyprian 
of Carthage. He was educated in the stoic philosophy 
and became a Christian minister in Rome. Like Cyprian, 
he exerted a vast influence, not only on his age, but on 
future generations, though in opposite directions. A 
severe sickness seems to have been the means of his con- 
version. Not being expected to live, he was baptized on 
his bed, by circumfusion — the first instance of clinic 
haptism (so called) in history. It was thought so defec- 
tive, that, on his recovery, and call to the ministry, he 
was admitted to ordination as a presbyter with dif- 
ficulty. 

In the Decian persecution, Fabianus was an early 
martyr, and his successor, Macedonius Trophimus, sac- 
rificing to idols, was deposed. It is reported in the 
Martyrium Novatiani, that at this time Novatian was 
the only presbyter who stood his ground as a confessor 
of Christ. 

At the close of the persecution, 251, Cornelius and 

Novatian were put in nomination for the bishopric of 
42 



658 



LIVES OF EMIN"ENT CHRISTIA]S"S. 



Rome. Tliey represented the two parties that had long 
struggled in that church, on the princijDles of a lax or 
strict communion. (See Hippol}i:us.) Cornelius was 
elected by a large majority. Novatian and his friends 
submitted. 

Soon after, a council of sixty bishops met at Eome, 
to decide on the case of the lapsed in the persecution. 
The fallen prelate, Trophimus, had many friends, and, 
to gain them, the council restored him to lay com- 
munion. This act was regarded by Novatian and his 
friends as compromising the purity of the chm-ch of 
Eome, and all who endorsed it. A church which tole- 
rates mortal sin, like idolatry, cannot be the church of 
Christ. 

Another church was therefore established, and No- 
vatian was chosen its bishop. He was ordained b}^ 
several bishops from the country. Five presbyters, and 
most of the confessors of Rome, at first joined him, 
though some afterwards left him and returned to Cor- 
nelius. Fabias, bishop of Antioch, and Marcian, bishop 
of Aries, with other prelates, also sjTnpathized with his 
views. Yet the greater part, and Cj-prian especially, 
vehemently opposed him. Rival communities to the 
Cathohc party, however, were soon formed throughout 
all parts of the empfre, under the name of Cathari, the 
Pure. These churches for many centuries flourished, 
and there seems to have been much of the vital power 
and simplicity of the Gospel among them. They fur- 
nished a pure example, and often a refuge, to the domi- 
nant ]3arty. 

At the Council of Nice, 325, Constantine tried to 
obtain their consent to unite with the Cathohc s in 



GREGOEY TIIAUMATURGUS. 



659 



church communion, and in the State establishment. 
But they stood firm against the imperial seducer. Soc- 
rates, the historian, gives many beautiful instances of 
their love to their orthodox brethren of the now Komajst 
Catholic Church. This speaks well for their amiable 
feelings towards those who charged them with rigor in 
denying the validity of their church constitution, and 
baptized all who came over to them from the recognized 
Koman church. 

Novatian churches were tolerated by the Christian 
emperors until the time of Honorius, when their church 
buildings were taken away, and they were punished 
with death. They fled for refuge to the recesses of the 
Alps and the Pyrenees, and their name (which often 
re-appears in the middle ages), was at length merged in 
the general name of Waldenses. 

Novatian, after a faithful pastorate, suffered martyr- 
dom under Valerian, 258. He is represented as a man 
of great mildness, deep piety, learning, and eloquence. 
He has left a few of his works, which reached our 
times, especially his excellent treatise on the Trinity. 
He was much defamed by his enemies ; but we must 
remember our Lord's text, " By their fruits shall ye 
know them." 



GEEGOEY THAUMATUEGUS. 

The latter half of the third century is not as fruitful 
in distinguished men, as the century before, and this 
decline may be accounted for by causes already indi- 
cated. But amid the arid spiritual dearth, and great 



660 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 

permanent division of orthodox Christendom, with rival 
bishops in Kome and all the principal cities, God had 
many laborers and successful servants. 

Among them may be reckoned Gregory, surnamed 
Thaumaturgus, or the wonder-worker. The name was 
given him in the next century, and probably the good 
man would have been the first to disclaim it in his life- 
time. The facts worthy of remembrance in his history, 
are these. 

Gregory was a native of Neocesarea, the metropolis of 
Cappadocia. His father, being a Pagan, educated him 
in idolatry and pagan literature. When fourteen, his 
father died, but his mother sent him to Alexandria to 
complete his education. There he studied the Platonic 
philosophy, and was noted for his good habits and dili- 
gent study. 

About 236, while Origen was teaching at Cesarea, in 
Palestine, Gregory became his pupil, together with his 
brother Athenodorus, and his friend Firmilian. Under 
him they studied five years, and he led them to an 
acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures, which resulted 
in their conversion. His brother, as well as himself, 
became a Christian pastor. A letter of Origen is still 
extant, in which he exhorts Gregory to devote his life 
to promote the cause of Christ, and urges him to pray 
fervently for the illumination of the Holy Spirit. 

We know (from 1 Peter i. 1) that there were Chris- 
tians in Cappadocia in the first century, but the life of 
Gregory (written a century later by his namesake of 
Nyssen) informs us that at the time he settled in Neo- 
cesarea, the populous capital, it was wholly given to 
idolatry, and that he found but seventeen Christians in 



GREGORY THAUMATURGUS. 



661 



it. One of these, Musonius, a man of influence, i*eceive(i 
him into his house, and in a short time crowds attended 
on his ministry, and were converted by his preaching. 
This great outpouring of the Holy Spirit wrought 
wonderful changes, which, in after times, were confound- 
ed with the gift of miracles. But there is no contempo- 
rary evidence that he claimed or exercised this gift. 
The story that he received a creed from the evangelist 
John, and the virgin Mary, is beyond question the 
fiction of the Catholics of the fourth century. It is sur- 
prising that Mr. Milner should give it a moment's credit. 

Through the stormy times of the Decian and Valerian 
persecution, he was preserved, and continued his suc- 
cessful labors until the first year of the emperor Aure- 
lian, 271. 

He was present at the first council of Antioch, where 
Paul of Samosata was condemned for denying the proper 
divinity of Christ. 

A little before his death, he caused strict inquiry to 
be made as to the number of idolaters remaining in the 
city of Neocesarea, or rather of the number unacquainted 
with Christianity, and it was found to be seventeen. 
When informed of this, he sighed, and appealed to God, 
how much it troubled him that any of his fellow citizens 
should yet be ignorant of the way of salvation ; yet 
expressed his thankfulness that whereas at first he 
had found but seventeen Christians, he had left only 
seventeen idolaters. After offering a prayer for the 
conversion of the unbelievers and the edification of the 
faithful, he peaceably gave up his soul to God. 

His life is a lesson for Christian pastors, who "watch 
for souls, as they that must give account," 



662 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



PAMPHILUS. 

This remarkable man, the intimate friend of the histo- 
rian Eusebius, was a 23resbyter of the church of Cesarea, 
in Palestine, where Eusebius was afterwards so long 
bishop. Pamphilus was one of the most learned and 
pious men of his time, and spent his life in aid of most 
disinterested benevolence. He always kept several 
copies of the Holy Scriptures by him (some of them 
transcribed with the greatest accuracy by his own hand), 
which he lent out to persons who had a desire to read 
them, whether to men or women ; and others he gave 
away. 

He erected a library in Cesarea, which is said to have 
contained 30,000 volumes — a prodigious number in that 
age of manuscript books. It seems to have been col- 
lected chiefly for the good of the church, and to lend out 
to all religiously disposed people. Jerome particularly 
says this was the design, and as Adam Clarke observes, 
it is the earliest instance known of a circulating 

LIBRARY. 

In the great persecution under Dioclesian, the fury of 
the Pagans fell on this holy and useful man. He was 
brought before Urbanus, the governor, who, after pro- 
posing many curious questions to try his repute for vast 
learning, commanded him to sacrifice to the gods. Pam- 
philus refusing, Urbanus ordered him to be cruelly tor- 
tured. He was then cast into prison, where he languished 
for two years, and was then put to death. Eusebius 



EUSEBIUS. 



663 



wrote an Apology for him in six books, and added his 
friend's name to his own. 

Dr. Lardner well observes : " Where can such a man 
as this be found in the heathen world ? How rare were 
such examples under the Mosaic institution, of men who 
employed their whole time in improving their own minds 
and serving others, without noise and ostentation, and 
without worldly views, and at last quietly resigned their 
lives, rather than disown their principles." 



EUSEBIUS. 

It is somewhat surprising that so little is recorded of 
the life of a man to whom the whole Christian world owes 
so much, as to Eusebius Pamphilus, bishop of Cesarea. 
Origen excepted, he was the most learned and laborious 
of all the writers of antiquity, and in the lasting value, 
number, and quantity of his writings, surpassed Origen 
himself, whose Hexapla he accurately reproduced. Yet 
of his parents, education, and the circumstances of his 
conversion, nothing is known. The centre of an illumina- 
tion which filled the entire hemisphere of the ancient 
w^orld, his own early life is left in obscurity and oblivion. 

Born, probably, in Palestine, at Cesarea itself, before 
270, the first we know of him is, that he was associated 
there with his friend Pamphilus, in the joint produc- 
tion of works of great learning, designed for the exten- 
sion and confirmation of the Christian faith. The great 
library collected there supplied the sources. How he 
escaped when his friend fell a victim, 204-6, is un- 



664 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



known. Through all that fierce Dioclesian persecution, 
he must have been prosecuting his great works in secret. 

After Gonstantine came to the throne, Eusebius emer- 
ges into light, and is at once acknowledged as the most 
learned man of his times. He was chosen bishop of 
Cesarea in 314. He took a prominent part in the Coun- 
cil of Nice, 224, drawing up the code with the preamble, 
in its original form, and signing it in the terms finally 
adopted. His Ecclesiastical History, Cleoraicon, Evan- 
gelical Preparation, and Evangelical Demonstration, are 
all brought down to that period, though he survived 
Gonstantine, and wrote the life of this first Ghristian 
emperor. Most of his other numerous works are lost, 
but these remain to attest his arduous labors and univer- 
sal learning, consecrated, if not always wisely, yet 
honestly, to Ghrist, and the highest good of mankind. 
He died about 340, and was buried in Gesarea. 



DOIsTATUS. 

The Dioclesian, as well as the Decian persecution, was 
the occasion of a seAous division in the Ghristian church ; 
though in the latter case it was provincial and not 
universal like the former. 

Donatus was a Numidian bishop in North Africa, 
who refused to acknowledge Gecilian, chosen bishop of 
Garthage in 311, as a lawful bishop, because the bishops 
who ordained him, particularly Felix of Aptunges ; were 
Tmditors, i. e., men who in the late persecution had 
delivered up the sacred books to be burned. This act 



DONATUS. 



665 



was regarded as equivalent to a denial of Christj and all 
who were guilty of it were deemed unworthy of Chris- 
tian communion, and their administrations invalid. 
But as the majority of the Catholics sustained Cecilian 
and his friends, Donatus withdrew from the communion 
of the Catholic church, and was followed by about half 
the bishops and churches of North Africa. They rebap- 
tized all who joined them from what they thought a 
communion fatally polluted, and the Catholics retorted 
upon them in the same way. Like the Novatians, they 
also excommunicated apostates, and declared that jpurity 
of life loas essential to a true cliurcli. 

When Constantino first published the edict of Milan, 
in 213, giving equal religious liberty to all, he ordered 
- that the church property taken from the Christians in 
the late persecution should be restored alike to all. But in 
the next year, 314, he was induced to limit this restora- 
tion to the Catholic churches and virtually deny it to the 
Donatists. This injustice led to a complication of evils, 
and widened the breach between the two parties. It be- 
came a common saying am^ong the Donatists : " What has 
the emperor to do with the church." "And what have 
bishops to do at court." 

In 230, they numbered 172 bishops of their persua- 
sion in North Africa alone, and a large portion of the 
people were either members of their churches, or con- 
nected with their congregations. 

In 348 the emperor Constans attempted to subdue 
them by military force, which resulted in a popular 
insurrection and the formation of bands of lawless men 
called Circumcellians, who attacked the imperial army, 
and for thirteen years ravaged the regions of Numidia 



666 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



and Massotania. These fanatics were not approved by 
the Donatist bishops or their churches, yet these last 
had to bear the odium of horrors which they detested 
and disavowed. 

So great was the misery that martyrdom was eagerly 
sought, and many gave themselves up to the Catholic 
magistrates to be executed. Some, driven to madness, 
threw themselves down from rocks and precipices, and 
thus destroyed themselves. 

At length persecution relaxed, and peace and prosper- 
ity returned. In 404, the number of their bishops was 
about 400, of whom 270 were present at a conference 
with the Catholics, whose bishops were present in about 
equal numbers. 

Honorius, at that time, enacted penal laws against 
them, punishing rebaptism with death. For a time this 
had some effect. But in 430, under the Yandals, they 
regained their liberty, and their churches flourished un- 
til the conquests of the Saracens in the seventh century. 



COI^STAl^TINE THE GEEAT. 

It is necessary to know something of the character 
of this first Christian emperor, and of the changes in- 
troduced by him into the Christian church, in order to 
comprehend the position in history of all the illustrious 
men who came after him, whether connected with the 
Roman Catholic Church or the dissenters from its com- 
munion. 

Constantine was the son of the Emperor Constantius 



CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. 



667 



Clilorus and his wife Helena. He was born in Britain, 
A. D. 274, but was educated in the court of Dioclesian, 
in Nicomedia, and held by that emperor as a hostage for 
the fidelity of his father. On the accession of Galerius 
to supreme power, finding himself closely watched by 
that bloody persecutor, he escaped to the court of his 
father. The father soon after died, when the army 
unanimously chose Constantino his successor, as empe- 
ror of the West, including Gaul, Spain, and Britain, 
306. 

In 312, having conquered the Franks, he marched 
against Maxentius, the tyrant of Italy. On this march 
he is reported to have seen, one day, in the sky, the 
appearance of a flaming cross, with the words, " In this 
sign thou shalt conquer !" And he dreamed, the follow- 
ing night, that Christ appeared to him, and commanded 
him to make the cross the ensign of his army — which 
he did. Maxentius was conquered (Oct. 27, 312). Con- 
stantino entered Rome in triumph, liberated those un- 
justly imprisoned, and was declared by the senate, 
chief Augustus, and Pontifex Maximus. 

In 313, in conjunction with Licenius, he issued, at 
Milan the memorable edict of toleration in favor of the 
Christians. This was, in fact, a decree of universal re- 
ligious liberty, allowing to every one the right of con- 
science ; restoring to the long persecuted Christians all 
the property which had been taken from them, and 
making them, equally with others, eligible to public 
offices. 

This impartial edict marks the period of the triumph 
of the cross, and of the downfall of paganism. Had 
Constantino and his successors never departed from its 



668 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



spirit and principles, Christianity would have been 
spared immense dishonor, mankind innumerable calam- 
ities, and the persecution of Christians by Christians 
would have been a thing unknown. But evil counsels 
prevailed ; and within a year the emperor began a sys- 
tem of usurpation over the churches, by appointing im- 
perial commissioners to settle questions of orthodoxy; 
and in 316 persecution was renewed under the Chris- 
tian name. Constantine, though not yet baptized, 
called himself the ''external bishop of the church" 
(without any protest from the Catholic bishops, not 
even the bishop of Eome), and changed its whole con- 
stitution to conform it to the new constitution of the 
State. Each of the four prefectures had its patriarch, 
each of the thirteen dioceses an archbishop, and each 
of the one hundred and seventeen provinces a metro- 
politan bishop, governing all the rest ; and all were 
entrusted with civil as well as with ecclesiastical power. 
Splendid churches were built, and richly endowed; and, 
in the full sunshine of imperial favor, the Pagans has- 
tened to profess the Christian name. The worship of 
saints and of the virgin Mary, and of the relics of real 
or supposititious martyrs — with pious frauds and monk- 
ish miracles — soon became universal. 

This baleful union of the Catholic Church, with the 
State, is the true origin of the Roman Catholic Church; 
but its apostolic and holy character, as the church of 
Christ, perished. The glory was departed. Great and 
good men were still found in the bosom of the establish- 
ment, like Joseph in Egypt, and Daniel in Babylon; 
but these were often persecuted, and in most cases 



CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. 



669 



yielded more or less to the torrent of superstition which 
rolled in on every side. 

Constantine was sincere in his wish to establish order 
and peace throughout his empire. Many of his laws 
were wise and beneficial. He abolished the stoics, 
provided for poor children, heard and redressed com- 
plaints against his own officers, reduced the taxes, im- 
proved prisons, quickened the course of justice, and was 
a friend to the sick, to widows, and orphans. He 
forbade the separation of husbands and wives, parents 
and children, in the distribution of claims inherited. 
He also crushed the licentiousness of divorce. He built 
a new capital, on the site of Byzantium, calling it after 
his own name, enriched with the spoils of the whole 
empire, but from which all the temples and worship of 
idols were by law excluded. Constantinople was de- 
signed to be the Christian, or New Rome. Highly 
favored by nature, there the nations poured their tribute 
and their trade, and Eome, the ancient mistress of the 
world, lost her sovereignty; though she afterwards re- 
gained it in a new form of priestly and papal dominion. 

On his accession to power, Constantine found the 
Christian churches still independent, but not in a single 
communion, as when Tertullian was able to say, a 
century before, " We are a body united in one bond 
of religion, discipline, and hope." The emperor found, in 
313, three distinct bodies of Christians, — the Catholics, 
the Cathari, or Novatians, and the Donatists, all main- 
taining the same orthodox faith. (See Novatian and 
DoNATUS.) Had he given them impartial rights and 
protection under the laws as good citizens, truth and 
time, with the influence of the Holy Spirit, would have 



670 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



again brought them together. But having assumed the 
supreme power over the Catholics, he was soon led to 
persecute Dissenters. And the evil did not stop here. 
In a few years the established church, under his special 
patronage, was rent asunder by the Arian controversy. 
After vain attempts to compose the storm, in 325, just 
after his conquest of Licenius had made him sole master 
of the Roman world, he summoned over three hundred 
bishops from all quarters to the Council of Nice, paid all 
their expenses, opened to them the great hall of his 
palace, and presided in person over the proceedings. He 
himself submitted to its decisions, subscribed its creed, 
and enforced it against the obstinate Arians by the civil 
arm. Yet within five years, through the influence of 
his sister Constantia, and the artful Eusebius of Nicome- 
dia, he changed his opinion, recalled the Arian bishops, 
and Arius himself, and required the Catholics under 
penalty to receive them to fellowship. For fifty years 
the controversy raged, until Theodosius the Great 
settled it, by the weight of his imperial power, in favor 
of the Catholic party ; for party it was, although doubt- 
less the most orthodox, and the most numerous party in 
the church establishment. 

Constantino was brave, yet mild and generous, in- 
dulgent to his subjects, the favorite of his people, and 
the terror of his enemies. He would gladly have com- 
prehended both the Novatians and the Donatists in the 
established church ; but finding it opposed to their con- 
scientious convictions, he abandoned the attempt. They 
preferred purity and independence to all the splendors 
of imperial patronage. 

Although strictly conforming to all the ritual of the 



ATHANASIUS. 



671 



Catholic clergy, Constantine delayed liis baptism till 
near the close of life. Finding his health failing early 
in 337, he sent for several bishops, to whom he solemnly 
professed his purpose to live as a disciple of Christ. He 
was then baptized by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, 
and died the 22d of May, 337, aged 64, after dividing 
his empire between his three sons, Constantine, Con- 
stans, and Constantius. 



ATHAI^TASIUS. 

This great man was born in Alexandria, 296, and 
there received his education, under the bishop Alex- 
ander, whom he succeeded in that office, 326, just after 
the Council of Nice. His life was cast in the tempestu- 
ous times of the Arian controversy, which originated in 
the city of his birth, and under his own eye. He be- 
came the chief champion of the orthodox through the 
following forty-six years. 

Nothing could more forcibly illustrate the evils of the 
connection between the church and the state, which began 
at that period, than the history of Athanasius. With 
every revolution of the government, with every change 
of creed, he found himself alternately honored or scorned, 
deposed or restored, vehemently lauded or violently 
hated. 

Within ten years after he was made bishop of Alex- 
andria he was deposed (through the influence of the 
Arians), by Constantine, and banished to Treves, in Gaul. 
Two years later the emperor, falling sick, recalled him, 
in 337; but his enemies once more got him deposed, and 



672 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHEISTIANS. 



Gregory, of Cappadocia, substituted in bis place. He 
was declared innocent by tbe Council of Rome, 342, and 
by that of Sardis in 347, and was restored to his office 
in 349 ; but was once more banished by Constantine, 
and obliged to hide himself in the desert. About 360, 
he returned to Alexandria, but was again banished by 
Julian. He was recalled by the emperor Jovian, and 
restored to his see ; but was again banished by Yalens, 
the Arian emperor, in 367, who afterwards, however, 
restored him, so that, after so long and stormy a career, 
Athanasius died peacefully in 373, in the midst of his 
flock. 

Such a brief sketch may well make every citizen of 
the United States rejoice in the removal of that perni- 
cious uoion of church and state, which still afflicts the 
rest of the world. 

Of this Athanasius became thoroughly convinced, as 
in one of his epistles he shows, by the cogent arguments,, 
the injustice and futility of j)ersecution for religious 
opinions. Among other things, he says : It is the 
property of true religion to have no recourse to force, but 
to persuasion. But the State makes use of compulsion 
in matters of religion; and what is the consequence? 
Why, the church is filled with hypocrisy and impiety, 
and the faithful servants of Christ are obliged to hide 
themselves in caves and holes of the earth, or to wander 
about in the deserts." 

Athanasius wrote much, and his principal writings 
remain. His influence was great, generally good, but by 
no means always salutary, if he wrote the Life of St. 
Anthony, the monk. It is utterly unworthy of so great 
a man. By associating holiness with hermit life, saint- 



HILARY OF POITIERS. 



673 



ship with a sheepskin dress, and miracles with monkish 
fasts and prayers, it fastened a lasting curse on Christ- 
endom. 



HILAET OF POITIEES. 

This greatest theologian of the fourth century — cer- 
tainly in the West, — was born at Poitiers, in Gaul, in the 
province of Aqutaein, about the year 300. His family 
were Pagan, but respectable. He early applied himself 
to the study of the heathen philosophers and poets, and 
of the Holy Scriptures, and thus acquired a vast amount 
of knowledge. His conversion was thus brought about : 
While reading the Pentateuch he was much struck with 
the description of the true God, whom he inwardly felt 
that he did not know. But when he took up the gospel for 
further information, he was astonished to learn that this 
God had become incarnate, and died for the sins of men. 
The love of Christ, the crucified, took possession of his 
heart, and became the power of God to his salvation. 
As long as he lived, he was the faithful, unblamable, effi- 
cient advocate of this great salvation, and no man of an- 
tiquity seems to have better understood and defended it. 

The people of Poitiers, soon after his conversion, were 
so impressed with his eloquence and zeal, that they desired 
him for their bishop, though he had yet held no inferior 
office in the church, and was a married man, with a wife 
and one daughter. He was appointed accordingly, 350. 
We next hear of him, 355, in the Council of Milan. For 
opposing the Arians, Saturnius, bishop of Aries, got 
the emperor Constantius to banish him to Phrygia. 

43 



674 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 

While there, he wrote his celebrated treatise on the 
Trinity, in twelve books, a work of unrivalled complete- 
ness and excellence, and other works, which so annoyed 
the Arians in the East, that they begged the emperor, 
in 360, to send him back again. He returned to his 
church a more able and useful man than before, and for 
many years stood pre-eminent among the bishops of Gaul, 
rolling back the current of error that was setting in 
upon the West. 

He ended his holy and useful life in 367. From his 
rapid style, Jerome calls him ''the Ehone of Latin elo- 
quence." 



ULPHIL AS. 

The name of Ulphilas is differently written, but the 
remembrances of his services to religion ought not, and 
will not, perish from the memory of mankind. We 
know just enough of him to make us wish to know 
more. 

According to Philostorgues, Ulphilas was a descendant 
from the captives carried off from Cappadocia, in the 
reign of Gallicenus, about 260. By the influence of 
their Christian captives, this barbarous German nation 
were induced to invite Christian traders among them, 
by whom numerous churches were collected and schools 
established, and the people gradually led to renounce 
their ancient paganism and profess the Christian faith. 
This, so far as we know, is the first introduction of the 
gospel among Germanic nations. A Gothic bishop, 



BASIL^ OF CESAREA. 



675 



named Theopliilus, was present at the Council of Nice, 
and signed the creed there established. 

The Goths thus appear to have received an orthodox 
faith. But they abandoned it in 376, when the Arian 
emperor, Yaleus, permitted 1,200,000 of them to pass 
the Danube, and settle in Davia, Alosia, and Thrace, 
within the Eoman empire, on condition of their submit- 
ting to the Roman laws, and to the Arian faith. This 
treaty is said to have been negotiated on the part of the 
Goths by Ulphilas himself Its terrible consequences to 
the empire he could not foresee. He was at the Arian 
Council of Constantinople, in 359, about eighteen years 
before, and is supposed to have favored their interest. 
Others doubt this. But none can doubt his talents, his 
piety, or his missionary zeal. 

Anxious to give the Bible to the people, this excel- 
lent man invented an alphabet for them, and trans- 
lated the whole into their language, with the exception 
of the books of Kings, which he omitted, it is said, lest 
this history should stimulate their passion for war. This 
reason does not seem sufficient, as it would equally apply 
to the book of Joshua. Ulphilas died in the reign of 
Theodosius, about 390. 



BASIL, OF CESAEEA. 

Basil, called the Great, son of Basil and Eumedia, 
was born in Cesarea, Cappadocia, about 328, of Christian 
parents. No pains seem to have been spared in his edu- 
cation, and his talents justified every expense. He 
visited the most eminent schools in the empire, at Cesar 



676 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



rea of Palestine, Alexandria, Athens and Constanti- 
nople. At Athens, he had, as fellow student, his friend 
Gregory Nazianzen, and Julian, afterwards called the 
Apostate, who, when emperor, tried to restore Paganism, 
and put down Christianity. At Constantinople he at- 
tended the lectures of the famous Libanius, the Pagan 
philosopher. But God touched his heart, and partly 
through the influence of his pious sister, Maerina, he 
was led to devote himself to the service of Christ. He 
was baptized at the age of twenty-eight, and within 
three years after, was ordained a presbyter by Eusebius, 
bishop of Cesarea, his native city, whom he succeeded in 
370. He died in 379, trusting in Christ. 

He was a man of rare gifts, of high culture and elo- 
quence, of sincere and glowing piety, self-denying habits, 
and quenchless zeal. But his piety, like that of most 
men of his age, was tainted with superstition and self- 
righteousness, and his zeal was largely expended in found- 
ing monasteries, and establishing a system of rules for 
their government, which bore his name for ages. He 
certainly improved a bad system. He was the first to 
plant both monasteries and nunneries in the neighbor- 
hood of great cities, and make them schools for the 
education of youth. As a bishop, he ordained few who 
had not been thus trained. His fame and influence thus 
spread over the churches, both of the East and of the 
West. His monks were not idle mendicants, but were 
taught to labor for their own support, and for the bene- 
fit of the poor. His nuns were employed in hospitals. 

He wrote much, especially against the Arians; but 
his best works are his Commentaries upon the Scriptures, 
which were highly esteemed. 



GKEGORY NAZIANZEN. 677 



GEEGOET ]^AZIAlsrZEN". 

This great orator of the eastern church, was the son 
of Gregory, hishop of Nazianzen, in Cappadocia, from 
325 to 374. He was born in 325, and was devoted to 
the Lord by his pious mother Nounse before his birth. 
His education was begun at Cesarea, in Cappadocia. 
Thence he went to Cesarea in Palestine, to Alexandria, 
and to Athens, to complete it. At the latter place, he 
had among his fellow-students, Julian (afterwards the 
apostate), and Basil, his bosom friend through life. He 
remained there five years. On his return to Nazianzen 
in 356, he was baptized, about the same time as his 
friend Basil, having been a catechumen for some time 
before. He married Theosebia, the sister of Basil, but 
left her to become a monk. Three years later, his aged 
father called him from his seclusion to be his assistant, 
and he obeyed, he says, reluctantly. In 362, he preached 
his first sermon as presbyter in his father's church. 

After the death of the Emperor Julian, Gregory de- 
livered two orations against him, which breathe a bitter 
spirit of resentment, perhaps less personal than pop- 
ular. In 372, his friend Basil offered him the bish- 
opric of Sasina, which he indignantly refused ; and on 
the death of his father, hi 374, retired to Selucia in ob- 
scurity. In 379, he yielded to the importunities of his 
friends, and accepted a call to Constantinople, to revive 
the orthodox interest in that city, in which he was very 
successful. This was the zenith of his eloquence and 
fame. The general council of Constantinople elected 



> 



678 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 

him patriarch and metropolitan of all Greece. But, 
learning that objections were raised, he declined the 
post, and returned to his former charge at Nazianzen, 
and discharged his duties till 383, when he retired from 
public life. His religious poems were composed at this 
period, and they present the fairest view of his charac- 
ter. He died in 390. 

Those who would love and revere this great man, 
will find the reasons for these feelings more in his poems 
than in his orations, which, though splendid, are full of 
superstition and intolerance. 



JOH]:^^ CHEYSOSTOM. 

John, surnamed Chrysostom, or the golden-mouthed, 
from his extraordinary genius and eloquence, was born 
at Antioch, the capital of Syria, of Christian parent- 
age, in 354. His father, Secundus, died in military 
service, and his early training was under his pious 
mother Arathusa. She instilled into his heart the gos- 
pel of Jesus at home, and also procured for him the best 
instruction in all branches of learning. Three years 
he was in the family of Meletius, bishop of Antioch. 
Among his other teachers, were Libanius, the famous 
Pagan rhetorician ; who, on being asked who was worthy 
to succeed him in his school, replied, "John, if the 
Christians had not stolen him from us." 

Under Diodorus (afterwards bishop of Tarsus), he 
studied sacred literature, and there learned to discard 
the allegorical interpretation of Origen, and to follow 



JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. 



679 



the literal and historical sense of scripture. He was 
thus formed to become, through grace, the best ex- 
positor of scripture, as well as the noblest orator of his 
age. He was baptized at the age of twenty-three. 

Carried away, at the age of twenty-four, by the pre- 
vailing enthusiasm for monastic life, he spent seven 
years in studious seclusion, and by his severe self-deni- 
als nearly ruined his constitution. He commenced au- 
thor at twenty-six, and in his next year, 380, on return- 
ing to Antioch, was ordained deacon, and five years 
later a presbyter, when he began to preach, 386. For 
twelve years he produced a prodigious number of ser- 
mons, homilies, and orations, of the finest quality that An- 
tioch had ever known since the disciples w^ere first called 
Christians ; and a Christian population of one hundred 
thousand souls crowded to his ministry. 

In 398, he was transferred to Constantinople, that the 
imperial court might enjoy the enchantment of his elo- 
quence. But he carried with him here all the noble 
simplicity and faithfulness of his character, applying 
himself to effect much needed reforms in every depart- 
ment of society, and plans for spreading the gospel, by 
missionary effort, far and wide, among the Goths and 
other nations. His efforts were for a time successful. 

But his life was too holy, his preaching too pungent, 
and his discipline too strict, to be long acceptable in that 
corrupt metropolis of Christendom. Both the court and 
the clergy, partly from envy and partly from resent- 
ment, combined against him in 403, and an order was 
issued for his banishment, on the most frivolous charges. 
The condemned and banished man calmly submitted to 
the sentence, and was carried away hy night, to avoid 



680 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



the resistance of the people. But when morning came, 
and the news spread through the city, the people tumul- 
tuously assembled, and demanded his recall, saying that 
the sun might as well cease to shine, as Chrysostom 
cease to preach." Their violence alarmed the empress 
Eudoxia, and she recalled him. 

The very next year, however, his enemies again pre- 
vailed, and in 404, he was forcibly removed from his 
metropolitan see, to Cacuso, a city of Armenia. Here 
he was very kindly received, and he preached and labored 
in every way to do good, for three years. 

The following extract from a letter to a friend, written 
soon after his removal, will illustrate the style and spirit 
of the man : " When driven from the city, I cared noth- 
ing for it. Bat I said to myself, if the empress wishes 
to banish me, let her banish me — the earth is the Lord's, 
and the fulness thereof. If she would saw me asunder, 
let her saw me asunder. I have Isaiah for a pattern. 
If she would plunge me in the sea, I remember Jonah. 
If she would thrust me into the fiery furnace, I see the 
three children enduring that. If she would cast me to 
wild beasts, I call to mind Daniel in the den of lions. 
If she would stone me, let her stone me, I have before 
me Stephen, the proto-martyr. If she would take my 
head from me, let her take it, I have John the Baptist. 
If she would deprive me of my worldly goods, let her 
do it — ^ naked came I from my mother's womb, and 
naked shall I return.' An apostle has told me : ' God 
respecteth no man's person ;' and ' if I yet please men, 
I shall not be the servant of Christ.' And David clothes 
me with armor, saying : ^ I will speak of thy testimony 
before kings, and will not be ashamed.' " 



DIDYMUS. 



681 



After three years' residence in Armenia, Chrysostom 
found his health failing, and he was ordered to Pityus, 
in Colchis, on the Black sea, but he died on the road 
thither, 408, at the age of 54. 



DIDTMUS. 

DiDTMUS, of Alexandria, was the wonder of his age. 
Born there about 310, he lost his sight in his fifth year, 
by a distemper. Yet his misfortune did not prevent 
him from excelling in all kinds of learning. 

He arrived at such proficiency in literature, science, 
and theology, as at length placed him at the head of 
the catechetical school of Alexandria, where his fame 
drew to him numbers from distant parts, some to see 
him only, but others to become his scholars. Among 
the latter were Jerome, Eufinus, Palladius, and Isidore. 

He was condemned by the fifth Lateran Council, as a 
follower of Origen. But Jerome affirms that he was 
orthodox, and that he died in the communion of the 
Catholic Church, in 394, in his 85th year. 

He left many writings, most of which are lost, but 
his chief work, on the Holy Spirit, remains, according 
to Clarke, " an admirable work of an admirable man." 



SISIUl^TIUS. 

SisiUNius was a bishop of the Novatians, in Constan- 
tinople, at the close of the fourth century. He succeeded 



682 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



Agilius, a man of admirable sanctity and virtue, who 
had governed the flock for forty years. The historian 
Socrates, a contemporary in the same city, speaks of 
Sisiunius in the highest terms of respect. 

He was an eloquent man, an excellent philosopher, 
had diligently cultivated the art of logic, and was in- 
comparably well versed in the sacred Scriptures. All 
the bishops who succeeded him, loved and honored 
him. Moreover, all the eminent personages of the sen- 
atorial order had a great aflection for him, and admired 
him. He wrote many books ; but he was more admired 
for his speaking than for his writings. In his counte- 
nance and voice, in his dress and aspect, and in the 
whole of his action and deportment, there was much 
gracefulness, by reason of which accomplishments, he 
was beloved by all sects. " Such was the high estima- 
tion in which he was held by his own people," Socrates 
adds, that " his word was law." 

"With the gravity and earnestness of a man of God, 
he blended a brilliant fancy and ready wit. One of the 
best examples of it, is the following : When Chrysostom 
came to Constantinople, in 398, as metropolitan, flushed 
with his new power, and full of zeal for the extermina- 
tion of error, he met Sisiunius, not as a brother, but as 
a rival, and said to him, with great heat : " You are a 
heretic, and I will make you leave ofl* preaching." Sisi- 
unius answered : " I'll give you a reward, if you will 
free me from the labor of it." " 0 ! if the oflice is 
laborious," exclaimed Chrysostom, "you may go on 
with it." 

Sisiunius died in 407, and was succeeded by Chrysan- 



AMBROSE. 



683 



thus, a man of signal prudence and modesty, under whom 
the churches of the Novatians increased. 



AMBEOSE. 

Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was the son of a pretorian 
prefect of Gaul. He was born at Treves, about 340. 
His father dying, he was taken by his mother to Kome, 
with his brother Satyrus, and his sister Marcellina, a 
Christian virgin, through whom he was partially drawn 
to the knowledge of Christ. 

He studied law, and acquired such reputation as to 
gain the favor of Anicius Probus, prefect of Italy, who 
made him at length governor of Liguria, of which Milan 
was the capital. His mildness won the hearts of the 
people, and his wisdom secured their prosperity. 

In 374, on the decease of the Arian bishop of Milan, 
there was a great division of the people on the choice of 
a successor ; the Arians and the orthodox each eager 
to secure the success of its chosen candidate. Ambrose 
entered the church to quell the tumult, when a voice, 
from a child, cried out: "Ambrose, bishop." It was 
received as a voice from heaven, both parties uniting in 
calling him to the vacant office, though he was yet but 
a catechumen. He remonstrated at first, but yielded to 
their entreaties ; was baptized, November 30th, passed 
through the previous orders in the course of one week, 
and on the 7th of December, was ordained the Catholic 
bishop of Milan. Such was the singular state of religion 



684 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



ill the established church of the empire at that period, 
A.D. 374. 

Ambrose now gave up his property to the use of the 
poor, became an ascetic, and studied theology under 
Simplicanus. Without great learning, he had a noble 
heart and a warm imagination, a commanding presence 
and popular eloquence. He was sincerely devout, and 
an ardent lover of sacred music, which he greatly pro- 
moted in his church. He also wrote and collected a 
volume of hymns. He abolished many abuses, and re- 
stored discipline. He had the courage to excommunicate 
the emperor Theodosius, for the massacre of Thessalo- 
nica ; an example which the popes of the middle ages 
did not forget. 

He died in 397, deeply regretted by his people. 

He left numerous writings, of which the most valuable 
is his Comment on the Psalms. Here he rises above his 
habit of allegory, shows an intimate acquaintance with 
the workings of the heart, and the fountain of true 
wisdom. The style is pleasing, as abounding in descrip- 
tion ; powerful, as illustrated with suitable examples ; 
and persuasive, from the elegance of the diction, the 
force of the arguments, and the earnestness of a self- 
convinced spirit. 

In his books On Offices, occurs this noble passage, in 
which he urges to Christian liberality : " It is much 
better to preserve immortal spirits for the Lord, than 
gold. He who sent forth the apostles without gold, 
gathered together the church without gold. The church 
possesses gold, not to keep it, but to lay it out for the 
advantage of the necessitous. The poor are the trea- 
sures of the church." 



JEROME. 



685 



JEEOME. 

This most learned of the Latin fathers (so called), the 
translator of the Yulgate, was a native of Dalmatia. He 
was born about A. D. 321, of a respectable Christian 
family. His father Eusebius was a man of wealth, but 
his mother's name is unknown. His father sent him to 
Rome for his education, where he studied under the 
learned Donatus, the philologist. At first he fell in with 
the current of follies and luxuries of the great city, but 
by the grace of God he was rescued from their power and 
received Christian baptism. 

He visited Gaul, particularly Jocaes, soon after, to 
form the acquaintance of its best scholars. At Aquileia, 
in Italy, he formed a close friendship with Rufinus. 
Returning to Rome, he collected a large library of valu- 
able books, both classical and theological ; cultivating his 
literary taste by the former, and enriching his mind and 
heart from the latter, and particularly the sacred Scrip- 
tures. To this library he made constant additions, and 
from it he drew the knowledge on which his fame is 
built. 

With his books and his friends, Evagrius, Heliodorus, 
and others, he went into the East, and was received by 
Theodorus into his monastery, near Antioch. Here he 
diligently studied the Hebrew language, afterwards so 
useful in his translation of the Bible. Three bishops 
were at the time contending for the See of Antioch, 
Meletius, and Paulinus. By the advice of Damesus, 



686 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 

Bishop of Kome, he was ordained presbyter by Paulinus, 
but on condition of his remaining a recluse. 

After four years in Syria, he went to Constantinople 
to study theology with Gregory Nazianzen. In 382, he 
was called to Rome by Damasus, and made his secretary. 
On the death of Damas, he was so annoyed by his 
enemies, that in 385 he returned to Syria with his 
younger brother Paulinianus, and two wealthy Roman 
ladies, Paula and her daughter, the virgin Eustochisem. 
and after visiting Antioch and Jerusalem, passed into 
Egypt. Here he made the acquaintance of Didymus of 
Alexandria, and afterwards of the monks of Istria. But 
of this famous monastery he says that he found there more 
of the poison of serpents than of the piety of saints, so that 
he returned in disgust to Palestine and settled in a con- 
vent at Bethlehem. 

At Bethlehem Jerome composed most of his works. 
Here he gathered his friends around him, and though 
harassed often, and once in great danger from the burn- 
ing of his monastery, he passed the residue of his life, 
dying in the year 420, in his 90th year. 

The works of Jerome consist of the Vulgate, a revision 
or new translation of the Bible into Latin, adopted by 
the Roman Catholic Church as its standard; of commen- 
taries on various books of the Old and New Testament, 
controversial tracts, epistles, and lives of the ecclesias- 
tical writers before his time. 

The piety of J erome is not of the highest order. His 
temper is often bad, and his ascetic habits drove him into 
superstition and darkened his views of the gospel. His 
Life of St. Paul, the first hermit, and of Hilarion, also, 



JEROME. 



687 



abound in the most absurd stories and " lying wonders" of 
that monkish age. 

On the other hand, he has great merits as a translator 
and commentator of the Scripture. His comments are 
mostly literal and full of learning. As a letter- writer he 
is often admirable. 

As a controversialist, he appears to less advantage. 
What he took up warmly he uttered vehemently. His 
zeal is without discrimination. He seems to be a system- 
atic approver of whatever is established ; now and then 
finding fault in detail with what he defended as a whole. 
He is very sensitive to opposition, and jealous of his 
reputation. In a word, he was " a bigot to existing 
institutions, a firm adherent to the ruling powers 
(especially at Kome), and a strenuous defender of received 
opinions." His treatise against Vigilantius, the noble 
reformer of that corrupt age, is a disgrace to a Christian. 



YIGILAKTIUS. 

This evangelical reformer, of the fourth century — 
this Protestant in the bosom of the Roman Catholic 
Church — was born about 364, in the Gallic village of 
Cabagorris, at the northern foot of the Pyrenees, on the 
great road leading from Aquitaine into Spain. His 
father was a man of wealth, which the son inherited. 

His early education was neglected ; but while yet a 
youth, he was converted by the influence of Sulspicius 
Severus, the Koman senator, poet and historian, who 
took him into his family, and gave him the united ad- 



688 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHEISTIANS. 



vantages of classical and Christian instruction. There 
he met the excellent Exaperius, bishop of Thoulouse, 
PaulinuSj of Nola, and other distinguished men of the 
age. In 394, he visited Paulinus at Nola, and was re- 
ceived with much affection. Here he beheld the shrines 
of growing superstition, and Christian idolatry of saints 
and martyrs, and heard the wonderful stories of mira- 
cles wrought at their tombs. Yet here, too, he found 
the proper antidote, the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testament. 

Soon after his return from Italy, he was ordained 
presbyter, probably by Exaperius, who always stood by 
him as a friend and protector. His father dying at this 
time, he came into possession of his property, and was 
thus enabled to gratify his wish to visit Syria, Palestine, 
and Jerusalem. He carried letters of introduction to 
Jerome, and spent some time with him at Bethlehem. 
Jerome, in his answer to the letter of Paulinus, calls him 
" the holy presbyter Yigilantius," soon after he had left 
for Egypt. 

On his return to Europe in 398, it soon became mani- 
fest that the eyes of Yigilantius had been opened, by 
the grace of God, to perceive the deep-rooted evils in 
the Catholic Church, and to protest against them, in the 
name of his Divine Master. Among other things, says 
Mosheim, " he denied that the tombs and bones of the 
martyrs were worthy of any religious worship ; and 
therefore censured pilgrimages to places accounted sa- 
cred. He ridiculed the miracles reported as occurring 
in the temples consecrated to martyrs, and condemned 
the practice of keeping vigils in these temples. He 
sa'd that the custom of burning wax candles in the day- 



YIGILANTIUS. 



689 



time, at the sepulchres of the martyrs, was unwisely 
borrowed by Christians from the ancient superstitions 
of the Pagans ; he maintained that prayers addressed 
to departed saints were fruitless ; he treated with con- 
tempt the prevailing fasts, the celibacy of the clergy, 
and the monastic life ; and he maintained that neither 
those who distribute all their goods amongst the poor 
and lived in voluntary poverty, nor those who sent por- 
tions of their property to Jerusalem, perform an act 
pleasing and acceptable to God." 

To some of the Gallic and Spanish bishops, it appears 
that these just and scriptural sentiments of the re- 
former were not offensive. Indeed, there is ample 
evidence that they gave them a cordial welcome, and 
reduced them to practice within the next ten years. 
But all were not thus wise. 

Liparius and Desiderius, presbyters in parishes ad- 
joining that of Yigilantius, wrote to Jerome complain- 
ing of the influence of the reformer. They said that 
the whole vicinity was in commotion, that their own 
people were infected, and that many agreed with him 
in his blasphemies against the church ; and they begged 
Jerome to refute him. To this appeal Jerome at once 
replied, endeavoring, as he said, to "crush the serpent." 
This was in 406 ; and the reply is couched in language 
that might put a heathen to the blush. 

It is not at all likely that the reformer was con- 
vinced or silenced. The only light we have leads to 
the conclusion that he retired to Barcelona, in Spain, 
where he soon after died — slain, according to some, at 
the storming of that city by the Yandals. 

But the word of truth did not perish. In the 9th cen- 
44 



690 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



tury, Jonas of Orleans, and Dangalus^ Romish writers, af- 
firm that the teaching of Yigilantius still found followers 
in the subalpine diocese of Claude, bishop of Turin ; and 
they both attribute the iconoclastic proceedings of 
Claude to the example of Yigilantius. Modern Protest- 
ants, Faber, Jones, Gilles, and others, do not hesitate to 
trace, through him, the origin of the Waldenses. 



AUGUSTIE'E. 

This distinguished man, the brightest miracle of 
grace, and the profoundest divine of his age, was born in 
Tagasta, a town of Numidia, in North Africa, November 
13, 354. His father Patricius, was poor but respectable; 
his mother Monica, was a model Christian wife and 
mother. She took care of his religious education from 
his birth, and put him at once among the catechumens, 
which was then the usual method of preparing all classes 
for faith and baptism. 

In time he was sent to Madaura, for instruction in 
other useful learning ; but even then took a dislike to 
the study of Greek literature, which he retained through 
life. From the age of fourteen to sixteen, when he lost 
his father, he spent his time in Carthage, in partial study 
and dissipations; mingling heathen authors with the 
sacred Scriptures in his reading, and making the catego- 
ries of Aristotle the test of all truth. Unable to account 
for the origin of evil, at twenty, he fell into the Mani- 
chean errors, whose root lies in the assumption of two 
original and eternal principles, one good and the other 



AUGUSTINE. 



691 



evil ; who contend with each other for the mastery of 
the universe. His morals suffered with his mental aber- 
rations. He had a mistress, and was a father at nineteen. 

The tender mother, unable to check his w^anderings, 
still watched over and earnestly prayed for her wayward 
son. The good bishop, whose efforts she besought to re- 
claim him to the truth, touched by her deep distress, 
said to her : " Continue your prayers. It is impossible 
that a son of so many tears should perish." 

In 383, Augustine left Carthage for Rome. But fail- 
ing to support himself there, as professor of eloquence, 
he proceeded to Milan. Here he became acquainted 
with Ambrose, the bishop of the Catholic church in 
that city, and by him was directed to the study of Paul's 
epistles. An ardent desire for the discovery of the truth 
now sprang up in his heart, and he now found that God 
alone is the effectual interpreter of his own word. To 
him he applied in earnest prayer, with humble confes- 
sion of his sins, and at length received, through Christ, 
an answer of peace in his soul. 

His conversion was a new era in his life. His doubts 
and his iniquities were removed, and at Easter, 386, he 
was baptized, together with his son Adeollatus, then 
thirteen years of age. His mother, who had followed 
him to Milan, was overjoyed at the blessed change, in 
which the prayers of her heart, for thirty-six years, were 
fulfilled. On the way back to Africa, he, however, lost 
his inestimable mother, \\ho was indeed now ready to 
depart in the full triumph of faith. 

Returning to his native city in Numidia, he retired, 
with a few friends, to an estate he had in the neighbor- 
hood, where he lived in the practice of works of piety, 



692 



LIVES OF EMIXEXT CHRISTIAXS. 



and in tlie composition of several of his theological 
works, until 391. In that year, he visited the city of 
HijDpO; in the hope of rendering spiritual benefit to an 
imperial officer, vhen the aged bishop Valerius, had 
him ordained as his assistant. Here he built a monas- 
tery for men, and a convent for women, of which last 
his sister became superior ; thus showing that even his 
powerful mind did not rise above the prevailing super- 
stition of the age. In 395, he was made associate bishoj), 
and on the death of Yalerius, sole bishop of Hippo, until 
his own death, 430, a period of thiity-five years, crowded 
with acti^T.ty and energy. He was indefatigable in 
23reaching, writing, combatting error and sin, and infus- 
ing life and spirituality into the churches and clergy 
of the Catholic church, far and near. From 412 to 428, 
he was deeply engaged in the controversj' with the Pela- 
gians, and strongly defended, by voice and pen, the doc- 
trines of free grace and predestination. He sought most 
earnestly to win back the Donatists to the Catholic 
church : but finding argument and persuasion unavail- 
ing, he at length recommended coercive measures to the 
government, on the idea that it is better that the body 
should suffer than that the soul should be lost — a true 
principle, but entirely misapplied hy the advocates of 
persecution, whether by an Augustine, a Bernard, or a 
Torquemada. ^' Who art thou that judgest another 
man's servant." To his own Master he standeth or 
falleth." ^- One is your Master, even Christ ; and aU ye 
are brethren.'" 

These disputes clouded the last days of Augustine. 
But his soul was still more distressed when the Vandals, 
under Genseric, desolated Africa, with fire and sword, 



PATRICK. 



693 



and the labors of his life seemed to be suddenly swept 
away. While the Vandals were besieging the city of 
Hippo, he was seized with a fever, and died, August 28, 
430, in the 76th year of his age. But being dead, he 
yet speaks in his numerous writings, which handle 
almost every point in speculative, experimental, and 
practical religion, with profound thought and spiritual 
unction, if not always with the meekness of wisdom. 
No man did so much as he to promote infant baptism, 
and thus subvert the catechumenal system. 



P ATEIOK, 

CALLED THE APOSTLE TO THE IRISH. 

This admirable man, around whom the Jesuits (in 
the Acts Sanctorum^), have thrown the halo of Eomish 
superstition, was born in Scotland, KJ). 379, at Bona- 
ven, between Dumbarton and Glasgow. The region 
was then called Valentia, by the Romans, under whose 
rule Christianity had gained a firm footing. Patrick's 
original name was Sukkoth. He was the son of a poor 
deacon of the village church, and was religiously edu- 
cated. Yet he felt no genuine love for religion till his 
17th year. 

At that time, he was taken captive by a band of ma- 
rauders, from the north of Ireland, and sold there as a 

* In the above work, the " Acts of the Saints," we find statements that 
dh-ectly contradict Patrick's, in his " Confessions." We, therefore, put 
Httle confidence in what that Jesuitical work says of his connection with 
Rome, ahhough Rome has canonized him. 



694 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



slave. Milcora, his master, set him to watch his cattle. 
His conversion is best told in his own words, taken from 
his Confessions : 

Thus God opened my unbelieving mind, so that, 
though late, I thought of my sins, and turned with my 
whole heart to the Lord my God, to him who looked 
down on my low condition, had pity on my youth and 
ignorance, and before I knew him, before I could distin- 
guish good from evil, guarded* protected, and cherished 
me, as a father a son. This I certainly know, that be- 
fore God humbled me, I was like a stone sunk in the 
mire ; but when he came, who had power to do it, he 
raised me in his mercy, and put me in a very high place. 
Wherefore, I must testify aloud, in order to make some 
return to the Lord for such great blessings in time and 
eternity, which no human reason is able to estimate." 

After six years of captivity, he found means of escape, 
by a vessel sailing to his native land. 

His rejoicing parents now hoped to retain him per- 
manently with them, but God had other and nobler 
employment for him. His heart yearned over the poor 
heathen, in the land where he had been a captive, and 
as he had learned their Celtic language and customs, he 
was filled with prayerful longings to go among them as 
a missionary of the gospel of Christ. 

But the times were not favorable to such efforts; 
neither was he properly qualified by education and train- 
ing for the great work before him. He then sailed to 
Gaul, and entered the monastery of Marmontier, where 
he studied for three years. Thence he went into Italy, 
where he was detained many years longer. 

At length, A.D. 432, the way was opened for him to 



PATRICK. 



695 



return to Scotland, and make his preparations for his 
great missionary work in Ireland. His friends and 
parents in vain sought to dissuade him. He himself 
says : " Many opposed my going, and said, behind my 
back : ' Why does this man rush into danger among the 
heathens, who do not know the Lord ?' It was not badly 
intended on their part, but they could not comprehend 
the matter. It was not by my own power, but it was 
God that conquered in me, and withstood them all ; so 
that I went to the people of Ireland, to publish the gos- 
pel to them, and suffered many insults from unbelievers, 
and many persecutions, even unto bonds, resigning my 
liberty for the good of others. And if I am found worthy, 
I am ready to give up my life, with joy, for his name's 
sake." 

In this spirit, Patrick entered on his mission. He 
began his labors in Lagonica, and in 434, in Ultonica (or 
Ulster), not far from the city of Armagh, which hence- 
forth became the centre of the Irish mission. All former 
efforts to introduce Christianity, particularly by Palla- 
dius, had failed. The country was badly cultivated. 
Fishing, the chase, and cattle-breeding, were the chief 
employments of the people. They carried on incessant 
wars, among the different tribes, with stones, spears, 
and ponderous battle-axes. They had but two arts — 
music and poetry, and the bards sung, to their unlettered 
hearers, the deeds of their barbarous heroes, thus con- 
tinually inflaming their love of war. Like the Celtic 
tribes, they were worshippers of fire, and especially of 
the sun. 

By the sound of a kettle-drum, Patrick called the peo- 
ple together, to tell them of the true God and the cruci- 



696 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



fied Kedeemer. But not without great opposition. The 
Celtic priests and bards, who had great influence on the 
superstitious people, stirred up many severe persecutions 
against him. But nothing could daunt his courage, or 
quench his glowing zeal. God was his refuge and 
strength. His faith, and patience, and fervent prayers 
prevailed, and by degrees he saw the work of the Lord 
extending on all sides, in the conversion of sinners. 

One example of his success will suffice for illustration. 
In a family of rank, which had been converted and bap- 
tized, the son and heir became so attached to Patrick, 
and anxious to do good, that he forsook all his worldly 
prospects, and followed him everywhere, as his assistant 
in the spread of the gospel. From his friendly, gentle 
disposition, he received the name of Benignus, and his 
musical talents were of great service in singing Christian 
hymns among the people. On the death of Patrick, he 
succeeded him in his office. 

With Christianity came letters, arts, social improve- 
ments, civilization. The influence of the Druids gradu- 
ally declined, and persecution abating, Patrick, with his 
assistants, was able to pass around a great part of the 
island, gathering large assemblies, and reading to them 
the Scriptures, as the guide to eternal life. Churches 
were established, teachers and ministers ordained, and 
monastic schools founded for the instruction of the peo- 
ple ; so that, within a single century, missionaries went 
forth from Ireland to evangelize Burgundy, Switzerland, 
and southern Germany. 

Thus, for more than thirty years, did this noble mis- 
sionary of the cross prosecute his labors. " Gladly," he 
says, " would I travel to my parents in my native land. 



PATRICK. 



697 



and also visit tiie brethren in Gaul, to see once more the 
faces of the saints of my Lord. God knows that I wish 
it very much. But I am bound by the Sj)irit, who testi- 
fies that he will pronounce me guilty, if I do this, and 
I dread lest the work I have begun, should fall to the 
ground." 

Patrick sought to avoid even the semblance of acting 
for his own glory or profit. He often refused gifts that 
were urged on his acceptance, preferring rather to give 
than receive, and rendering to God all the glory of the 
wonderful works performed through his ministry. Thus, 
he says, in his Confessions, before cited : "He has called 
me by his Spirit to serve, though w^ith fear and trem- 
bling, yet faithfully and blamelessly, the people to whom 
the love of Christ hath led me. I must bless my God 
exceedingly, who has kept me faithful in the day of trial, 
so that at this time, I can present my soul full of con- 
fidence, as a living thank-offering to my Lord Christ, 
who has rescued me from all my distresses, so that I 
am obliged to say : " Who am I, 0 ! Lord, and what is 
my calling ? Since thou hast so gloriously revealed thy 
divinity to me, that to-day I can continually rejoice 
among the heathen, and glorify thy name, wherever I 
am ; not only in prosperity, but also in tribulation ; so 
that wdiatever may befall me, I can receive evil or good 
with an equal mind, and must continually thank God, 
who has taught me to believe in him as eternal truth.'' 

" May my God never suffer it that I should lose the 
church, which he has won in the most remote corner of 
the earth. I pray God that he would give me perseve- 
rance, and think me worthy to bear a faithful testimony^ 
until the time of my departure. And if I have ever 



698 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



striven to accomplish any thing for the sake of the God 
whom I love, I beseech him that I may be allowed to 
shed my blood for his name, with those of my new con- 
verts, who have been imprisoned, even though I should 
obtain no burial, or my body be torn in pieces by wild 
beasts." 

Patrick lived until 465, perhaps longer, but the parti- 
culars of his death are unknown. 



BEI^EDIOT. 

This celebrated reformer of monkery, and founder of 
the Benedictines, deserves notice for his vast influence 
over European society, through the monasteries and 
rules which he established. He was born at Narsia, in 
Italy, in 480, about the time that Patrick died in Ireland. 
At 14, he was sent to Rome, for education, but disgusted 
with its dissipation and its schools, he ran away, and 
hid himself in a cave, at Sublacum, for three years. 
When discovered there, his cell became a place of resort 
to the superstitious people. 

He was soon chosen abbot of a monastery near by ; 
but his rigid rule of discipline gave offence, and he re- 
turned to Sublacum, where many joined him. In 529 
he had under his jurisdiction 12 cells, each containing 
12 monks. Roman families placed their sons under him 
for instruction. 

His reputation exciting jealousy in the local clergy, 
he now removed to Mount Cassino, 50 miles south, and 
about as far from Naples. Here he converted a body of 



BENEDICT. 



699 



Pagan mountaineers, and turned their temple into a 
monastery, where he peacefully spent the rest of his life, 
dying in 543. His life was written by Pope Gregory 
the Great. 

According to the rule of Benedict, the monks were to 
rise at 2 A.M., and repair to the place of worship for 
vigils, and then spend the remainder of the night in 
committing psalms, meditation and reading. At sunrise, 
they assembled for matins; then spent four hours in 
labor, and two in reading ; then dined, and read in pri- 
vate, till 2i P.M., when they met again for worship, and 
then labored till vespers. They went through the book 
of psalms every week. Their labor was in gardening, 
agriculture, and mechanical trades; and each was put 
to such labor as the superior saw fit. Personal liberty 
was renounced, all proj)erty surrendered, and chastity 
pledged by perpetual vows. Each had his daily rations 
of food ; but no meat was allowed at the public table, 
nor any conversation. One read aloud, while the rest 
were eating. They all served as cooks and waiters by 
turns, a week at a time. Their clothing was coarse and 
simple. They slept in common dormitories of 10 or 20, 
in separate beds, without undressing. An inspector 
slept in each dormitory, with a light burning. No con- 
versation was allowed after they retired to rest. No one 
could receive a ^Dresent, or hold a correspondence except 
under the inspection of the abbot. No stranger was 
admitted, without leave from him, and no monk could 
go out, but by his permission. The school for cliildren 
was kept without the walls. 

The abbot was elected by common suffrage, but his 
power was despotic, and was regarded as the will of God. 



700 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



He had under him a prior or deputy, a steward, a super- 
intendent of the sick, an attendant on visitors, a porter, 
and other assistants, including deans, or inspectors of 
ten ; all of whom he appointed or removed at pleasure. 
On great occasions, he summoned the whole brotherhood 
in council ; at ordinary times, only the seniors : but after 
hearing them, he decided for himself. 

A probation of 12 months was assigned to every ap- 
plicant for admission; when, if approved, he took the 
three solemn and irrevocable vows of perfect chastity, 
absolute poverty, and implicit obedience to the will of 
the superior. For light offences, he was liable to repri- 
mand ; for grave ones, to loss of privileges, or expul- 
sion ; though the way was open for his return through 
repentance. 

The modern Benedictines admit that they do not ob- 
serve fully the rigorous rule of the order. But they 
claim that they keep the essential part, ^. e., the three 
vows. The immense wealth they have acquired, they 
say is consistent with the vow of poverty, because it 
belongs to the order, not to themselves ; yet they luxu- 
riously enjoy it. Such is human nature. 

The first Benedictines were pious and useful Chris- 
tians. Tiieir order spread over Europe, and, in time, 
absorbed all others. They converted the wilderness 
into a fruitful country. They supplied missionaries to 
barbarous Pagan tribes. They collected libraries, pre- 
served learning, educated youth, and trained able men 
for every department of state, of the church, and of 
society. 

But, as Neander justly observes, a system which pre- 
scribes as its aim, that " men should always be depend- 



BENEDICT. 



701 



ant on the mouth of another," is contrary to the spirit and 
genius of Christianity, which teaches man to depend only 
on the mouth of God. It is always a perilous matter to 
attempt to break the will of man, by the strict discipline 
that was employed in the monasteries ; for the human 
will can only be truly subjected and transformed by the 
power of God, by the might of love. Self-will will react 
in pride, or sink into servility, under the false grace of 
Christian humility. 

What Anselm of Canterbury, at the end of the 11th 
century, said against the rigid monastic discipline, is ad- 
mirable. An abbot complained to him of the incorrigible 
youths, who would not be amended by all the correction 
he administered. Anselm replied : 

" You never cease beating the boys, and what sort of 
men will they be, when they grow up ?" 

" Stupid and brutish," answered the abbot. 

" A good sign for your method of education ! when 
you educate them into brutes." 

" Is that our fault ? We try to compel them in all 
manner of ways to be better, and effect nothing." 

You compel them! Tell me, then, I pray you, if 
you planted a tree in your garden, and enclosed it on all 
sides, so that it could not spread out its branches in any 
direction, and after some years, transplant it in an open 
space, what kind of a tree would it become ? Certainly, 
a useless one, with crooked, tangled branches. And 
whose fault would it be but yours, who trained the tree 
in this over-compulsory manner ?" 



702 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



COLUMBA]^. 

CoLUMBAN, an eminent Irish monk and missionary, 
was born in Leinster, Ireland, in 559. After a good educa- 
tion in the literature of that age, he entered the famous 
monastery of Bangor, in the north-east, near Carrick- 
fergus, under Clongal, who, it is said, had 3,000 monks 
under his jurisdiction. These seem to have been refu- 
gees from the great monastery of Bangor, in Wales, 
who carried with them to Ireland their cherished name, 
as did the Pilgrim Fathers to Plymouth, in this country. 
The supposition is natural, and clears up many diffi- 
culties. 

In 589, his heart was moved to go forth as a mission- 
ary to the heathen, who had overrun the ancient seats 
of Christianity, in Gaul and Burgundy. Taking with 
him 12 companions, with the permission of Clongal, 
he set forth, and passing through England and Gaul, 
settled in Burgundy, near the Lucerne, where he built, 
in the wilderness, the monasteries of Augsley, Fontenay, 
and Lieuxiel, and lived and labored for 20 years, with 
great success. 

In 610, his faithful reproof gave offence to king The- 
odoric, and he was banished from the territory. After 
wandering some time along the Khine, and spending 
three years in Switzerland, he went into Italy. Here he 
was kindly received by the Lombard king, Agidulph, 
and founded the famous monastery of Bobbio, near 
Pavia, but after presiding over it one year, he died, in 
615. 



CONSTANTINE SYLYANUS. 



703 



Columban was a man of superior genius and exalted 
piety, and possessed vast influence in his own age. In 
his correspondence with Gregory the Great, he urged 
reform on the Papal see. His works are his monuments. 
In his instructions to his monks, he says many admir- 
able things, which show the genuine Christian spirit, 
working through methods we cannot altogether approve : 
" Whoever overcomes himself, treads the world under 
foot. No one who spares himself can hate the world. 
"We must willingly surrender, for Christ's sake, what we 
love out of Christ. Let us be Christ's, not our own ; we 
are bought at a dear price : truly so, for the master gave 
himself for the servant, the king for his attendants, God 
for man." 



This eminent reformer, of the Eastern empire, was 
born at Maunenalis, in Syria, about 630. From the ac- 
counts of his enemies, Photius and Peter Liculeis, both 
of whom vainly attempt to confound him and his fol- 
lowers with the old Manichees, we gather the following 
interesting facts : 

His conversion was owing to the gift of a New Testa- 
ment, from a deacon, a stranger, whom he had enter- 
tained one night in his house, in 660. At that time, few 
could read, the Scriptures were rare, and not in the hands 
of the common people. Constantine made the best use 
of the precious gift of the stranger. He studied the 
New Testament with unwearied assiduity and prayer, 
more especially the writings of the apostle Paul. " What- 



704 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



ever might be his success," sajs Gibbon, " a Protestant 
will applaud the spirit of his inquiry." 

The saving knowledge which Constantine, under the 
divine blessing, attained, he gladly communicated to 
others. A church of believers arose, among whom sev- 
eral were qualified for the work of the ministry. Other 
churches were collected, and formed after the model of 
primitive Christianity. They spread through Armenia, 
and Cappadocia, and Pontus. 

The Catholic hierarchy was alarmed. They branded 
them as heretics and Manichees. But, as Gibbon ob- 
serves, " they sincerely condemned the memory and doc- 
trines of the Manichee sect, and complained of the injus- 
tice that impressed that invidious name on them." It is 
not improbable that they adopted the name of Pauli- 
cians, to indicate their attachment to the writings of 
that eminent apostle. Certain it is, that they delighted 
in scriptural names. Constantine called himself Sylva- 
nus; his fellow laborers were called Titus, Tychicus, 
Timothy, and so on, and their churches were named 
after those of the New Testament, without regard to the 
names of the places where they were formed, or assem- 
bled for worship. 

The labors of Constantine (Sylvanus) were crowned 
with wonderful success. Asia Minor, once renowned 
for Christian piety, was again illuminated with the light 
of the gospel. He himself resided in Colonia, in Pontus. 

The Paulician teachers," says Gibbon, "were distin- 
guished only by their scriptural names ; by the modest 
title of fellow pilgrims ; by the sanctity of their lives, 
their zeal and knowledge, and the credit of some extra- 
ordinary gift of the Holy Spirit. But they were inca- 



CONSTANTINE SYLYANUS. 



705 



pable of desiringj or at least of obtaining, the wealth 
and honors of the Catholic prelacy. Such anti-Christian 
pride they strongly censured." 

Eoused by the growing importance of the sect, the 
Greek emperors began to persecute the Paulicians with 
the most sanguinary severity. Those humble Chris- 
tians, whose only crime was their Scriptural purity and 
simplicity, were capitally punished, their books seized 
and committed to the flames, and, if any one was found 
to have secreted them, he was put to death and his 
property confiscated. 

A Greek officer, armed wdth legal and military power, 
appeared at Colonia, to strike the shepherd, and recover 
the lost sheep to the Catholic fold. " By a refinement 
of cruelty, this officer (Simeon) placed the unfortunate 
Sylvanus before a line of his disciples, who were com- 
manded, as the price of their own pardon and the proof 
of their repentance, to massacre their spiritual father. 
They turned aside from the impious offer ; the stones 
dropt from their filial hands ; and of the whole number, 
only one executioner could be found. This apostate 
stoned to death the father of the Paulicians, who had 
now labored among them for twenty-seven years." 
Simeon himself, struck with the evidence of divine 
grace in the sufferers, embraced the faith wdiich he came 
to destroy, resigned his honors and fortune, became a 
zealous preacher, and sealed his testimony w^ith his 
blood. 

For centuries afterward, the successors of the primi- 
tive Christians continued to diffuse their light and shed 
their blood in its defence. In 855, the emperor Theo- 
dorus resolved to exterminate them, and is computed tc 
45 



706 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 

have killed, by the gibbet, fire and sword, one hundred 
thousand persons. 

But the reformatory movement was of God, and per- 
secution could not stop it. Providence favored it. In 
order to check it in Armenia, the Greek emperors, in 750, 
and again in 970, removed large colonies of the Pauli- 
cians across the Hellespont into Thrace. These exiles 
from Asia, with a zeal which no hardships could re- 
press, diffused their evangelical doctrines in Thrace, and 
<;on^erted their northern neighbors, the Bulgarians and 
Sclavonians, on the lower Danube. Bulgaria became the 
chief seat of their powerful churches. Persecution, war, 
trade, co-operated with their missionary enterprise. 
They gradually spread themselves over all Europe. 
Through Macedonia, Epirus, Sicily, Lombardy, they 
penetrated France, Spain, Germany, England. In 1017, 
by order of the Council of Orleans, the Paulician mis- 
sionaries, \with their converts, including several of the 
Catholic clergy, were burnt alive. A few years later 
thej were found in Swabia, and spread through Ger- 
many, under the name of Cathari, or the Pure ; a name 
which points out their connection with the Novatians 
of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, and supplies an 
important link in church history. In Italy they were 
called also Paterics, or Sufferers, as well as Cathari. 
The clergy heaped all sorts of calumnies upon their 
pure principles, in order to crush them, as off-shoots of 
the Gnostics and Maniclieans. Even Mosheim and Ne- 
ander have been so far imposed on by these calumnies, 
as to admit that they were tainted with those ancient 
heresies. But, whatever may be true of individuals 
found among them, it is not true of them, and the false 



PETER WALDO. 



707 



accusation should be dismissed as unworthy of the 
slightest credit in reference to the general body of the 
Paulicians. The two sets of principles cannot coalesce; 
and the Paulicians themselves constantly and indig- 
nantly repelled the calumny, and easily mingled with 
the evangelical Waldenses and Albigenses of the twelfth 
century. 



PETEE WALDO. 

Two eminent reformers of the name of Peter, appear 
in the south of France in the twelfth century. They 
were men of the same principles and spirit, and belong 
to the same great evangelical movement. Peter de 
Bruges is the first in the movement, and, according to 
Gaselos, he began his work as early as A.D., 1102. He 
was a learned presbyter in the Catholic Church, who, 
like Vigilantius, seven hundred years earlier, began his 
work without separation from the church, but protest- 
ing against the corruptions which he saw festering in 
her bosom. He did not leave her communion before 
1110. His labors were crowned with abundant success, 
in the conversion of great numbers to a true faith in 
Christ, throughout Provence and Languedoc ; until the 
populace of St. Giles, stimulated by the clergy, burnt 
him to death in 1130. But the truth was not consumed, 
and the work of God went on. Henry, Joseph, Arnold of 
Brescia, caught up, in succession, the torch of saving 
truth, and held it before the eyes of an awakening 
people. 

Peter Waldo, a rich merchant of Lyons, in 1160, was 



708 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



among the converts, who greatly contributed to the 
spread of the work. His exemplary life, his zeal in the 
cause of truth and holiness, his noble sacrifices, and, 
above all, his consecration of wealth and learning to 
give the people the Scriptures in their own language 
(the Provencal French), deserve perpetual remem- 
brance. 

An affecting Providence was the immediate occasion 
of awakening his own soul to the one thing needful." 
One evening, after supper, as he sat conversing with a 
party of his friends, one of them, particularly dear to 
him, suddenly dropt dead on the floor. The lesson of 
that awful hour was brought home to his heart. In the 
Scriptures he sought and found the great salvation of 
which all are in need. 

The Latin Yulgate Bible was then the only version 
in Europe, and not one in a hundred could read it. 
Waldo determined to give others access to the treasures 
vfhich had enriched his own soul. He was himself a 
man of learning, and, with the assistance of others, he 
translated the whole Bible, and circulated it in innu- 
merable copies among his fellow-countrymen. This was 
the first modern version into the languages of Europe, 
and it was to the people like life from the dead. The 
demand grew with the supply, and the divine seed was 
planted wherever the beautiful language, then the most 
highly cultivated in Europe, the language of the Trou- 
badours, was either spoken or read. 

The rage of the godless clergy knew no bounds. 
They called on the great St. Bernard, to stay, by voice 
and pen, the spreading plague of heresy, for so they 
called it. But, though he essayed, like Balaam, to 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. 



709 



curse, his concessions to their learning and piety turned 
the curse into blessing. 

Again persecution was invoked. The bishops breathed 
nothing but vengeance. From, the Rhone to the Rhine, 
all France and Germany were in commotion. Thirty- 
five citizens of Mentz were burned in one fire, for the 
love of God's word. In Strasburg, where Waldo him- 
self narrowly escaped, eighty persons were committed 
to the flames. Multitudes died, as in the early times, 
praising God that they were counted worthy to die for 
the truth. Council after council was called to condemn 
them ; and twenty years after Waldo had been driven 
from Lyons to the north of Europe, Pope Lucius III. 
issued a fiery decree for their destruction, in which he 
included, with "the poor men of Lyons," all the Car 
thari, Paterines, Passignees, Josephists, Arnoldists, and 
other " enemies of the Catholic faith," under " a per- 
petual anathema;" and enjoined upon all the secular 
powers of Europe to unite for their utter extermination. 

The Albigenses and the Waldenses are essentially the 
same people, though often distinguishable. It was to 
crush the former, sixteen crusades, from 1208 to 1224, 
swept over southern France, and the terrible Inquisition 
was first established 



JOH]^ WICKLIFFE. 

This great man, the first of the English Reformers, 
was born in Richmond in 1324. He was educated at 
Baliol college, Oxford, and during his long residence 



710 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



there acquired the reputation of extraordinary talents, 
piety and scholarship. In 1361 he was chosen master 
of his college, and made rector of Fylingham^ in Lincoln- 
shire. In 1363, he was. appointed professor of theology 
in the university. From that date, his public activity 
as a reforpier begins — nine years earlier than is com- 
monly supposed, or stated by his biographers. 

From 1363 to 1384, twenty-one years, through the 
reigns of Edward III. and Kichard II., the reforming 
labors of Wickliffe were incessant, partly by his univer- 
sity lectures, and partly by his personal preaching, by 
his numerous publications, by his employment of a large 
body of pious and faithful men, under the name of 
" Simple Priests," to preach in all the villages of the 
kingdom ; and lastly by the most important work of his 
life, the Translation of the whole Bible into the 
English tongue. This last has been justly pronounced 
the greatest event in Anglo-Saxon history. 

The modern power of the press was then unknown. 
But he was for years surrounded by a band of active 
copyists and itinerants, through whom his writings and 
translations were widely diffused, notwithstanding all the 
efforts of his enemies. He never formally left the Church 
of Rome ; but the light and power of God's word gradu- 
ally expelled his own darkness, and he followed Christ 
in that growing light, fearless of all dangers. So unspar- 
ing was his exposure of the corruptions of the Romish 
system, that he was repeatedly condemned as a heretic, 
by the clergy, and the Pope at their head ; and would 
have been sacrificed as a martyr, but for the protection 
of the Duke of Lancaster and other powerful friends at 



JOHN WICKLIFFE. 



711 



the English court, and by other providential interpo- 
sition. 

He was driven from the University of Oxford, in 1382, 
and spent the last three years of his life in his rectory 
at Sutterworth, where his translation of the Bible was 
completed and the last and best of his theological 
writings were produced. He saw that time was short, 
and he made the most of it for his Divine Master and 
the souls of men. Before his enemies were able to strike 
the long meditated blow, he was peacefully released from 
earth, and taken forever beyond their reach. 

Wickliffe advocated general pj'inciples entirely sub- 
versive of the Papal system, and which have since be- 
come the standard principles of Protestantism ; such as 
the absolute supremacy of the Scriptures; the right of all 
men to read it for themselves ; and that no doctrine or 
ceremony is to be received in the church which is not 
sanctioned by the word of God. " Wise men," he said, 
" leave that as impertinent which is not plainly expressed 
in Scripture." On this ground he rejected the authority 
of the Catholic Church over the individual conscience ; 
the efficacy of baptism to wash away sin ; and the per- 
dition of unbaptized infants on which that supposed effi- 
cacy rested. 

The effect of his translation of the Bible and of his 
other writings was prodigiously great. It is said tliat 
o]ie half of the English nation embraced his views. On 
the continent of Europe, especially in Bohemia, his in- 
fluence spread with resistless force. The Council of 
Constance, in 1415, not only condemned his books, but, 
with impotent malice, ordered his very bones to be dug 
up and publicly burned to ashes. But, as the historian 



712 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



Fuller observes, The river Swink conveyed his ashes 
into the Avon, Avon into the Severn, Severn into the 
narrow seas, they to the main ocean, that thus they 
are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed 
all the world over." 



JOH]^ HUSS. 

This distinguished man was born at Hussirez, in 
Bohemia, in 1373. He was educated at the University 
of Prague, then in its greatest glory, having, it is said, 
twenty thousand students. Among these he was dis- 
tinguished for his talents and industry. In 1398, he 
began to deliver public philosophical and theological 
lectures, and was made Professor of Theology in the 
University. In 1402, he was made preacher at the 
Bethlehem Chapel, in Prague, and thus acquired an 
influence over the people as well as the students. Soon 
after, as confessor of Queen Sophia, he gained access to 
the court of King Wenalaus. 

It was at this time that Huss became acquainted with 
the writings of Wickliffe, which the queen and her 
attendants had brought from England. His knowledge 
of the Scriptures soon made him feel the power of the 
bold English Reformer, and he became in his turn the 
boldest advocate of a radical reform, which should 
restore the whole church to scriptural purity and 
simplicity. 

A terrible commotion followed. About five thousand, 
including professors and students from Germany, left 



JOHN HUSS. 



713 



the University ; but the Bohemians adhered to him. 
In consequence of the papal schism, the nobility and 
people favored the anti-papal spirit of his teachings. 
Huss preached against papal indulgences, masses for 
the dead, image worship, monastic life, set fasts, auricu- 
lar confession, etc., declaring them, one and all, to be 
the arbitrary inventions of spiritual despotism. To 
withhold the cup from the laity, he also denounced as 
unscriptural. 

Alexander Y., the new Pope, finally summoned him. 
He refused to go. Schynke, archbishop of Prague, then 
prosecuted the preacher of scriptural truth, and, on 
search, two hundred volumes of Wickliffe's writings 
being found, were burned. Huss repaired to his native 
place, where he was protected by the Lord of Hussirez, 
Nicholas Here, preached with success, and wrote his 
most valuable works, those cfta the Six Errors, and on 
The Church, in which he denounces the Pope, saints, 
transubstantiation, priestly absolution, unconditional 
submission to human authority ; and proclaiming the 
Scriptures as the only rule in matters of religion. 

In 1414, being summoned before the Council of Con- 
stance to defend his opinions, and under a safe-conduct 
from the Emperor Sigismund, he appeared before that 
body. In spite of the emperor's safe conduct, he was 
treated as a prisoner. The emperor ordered his libera- 
tion, but was told that as a layman he could not inter- 
fere in such matters, and that a promise made to a 
heretic is not binding. 

At a public examination, June 5, 1415, the leading 
men of the Council interrupted his defence by loud and 



714 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



vehement outcries. On the 7th, he defended himself at 
greater length, in the presence of the emperor. But 
his grounds of defence were disregarded, and he was 
given the single alternative of an unconditional recanta- 
tion or death. July 6th, he was heard for the last 
time, and then the sentence of death was pronounced 
on him for his obstinacy ! Huss reminded the emperor 
of his safe-conduct. Sigismund blushed, but was silent. 

Thus, without being convicted of any error, and in 
defiance of the word, both of God and man, J ohn Huss 
was that very day hurried to the stake, where he was 
burnt alive, and his ashes thrown into the Ehine. In 
the midst of joyful prayers he gave up his soul to 
God. Even his enemies were struck with admiration 
at his behavior; and Bohemia, thrilled with horror at 
the injustice and perfidy of the Council and the emperor, 
took up arms to avenge his death. A civil war, of a 
terrible character and of fifteen years' continuance, 
ensued, and as if to manifest the wrath of Heaven upon 
the hypocrisy and cruelty of Rome. 



MAETI]^ LUTHEE. 

The name of Luther marks a great epoch in the his- 
tory of Europe, and of the world. It was he who was 
chosen by Providence , to accomplish that liberation of 
the human mind from the thraldom which had bound it 
for a thousand j' ears, under the dominion of a despotic su- 
perstition, against which the noble struggles of so many 



MARTIN LUTHER. 



715 



reformers had been carried on, with little or no success. 
Yigilantius, Constantine Sylvanus, Peter de Bruys, and 
Waldo, Wickliffe, and Huss, had not lived or died in 
vain. But they lacked one grand instrument of success, 
which was enjoyed by Martin Luther — the Printing 
Press. This new power changed the balance of forces 
in the moral world ; and gave to Truth a sort of omni- 
presence in the conflict with hoary Tradition, and organ- 
ized, hierarchical, world-wide persecution. 

The principal facts in the life of Luther are well 
known. We can only rapidly sketch them here. He 
was born in 1483, at Eisleben, of humble but respect- 
able parentage. He was religiously brought up, and, at 
14, was sent to school, at Magdeburg, and then to 
Eisenach, where, like other poor scholars, he earned a 
scanty support, by singing songs at the doors of the 
street. He made rapid progress in study, and, in 1501, 
entered the university at Erfurt. In 1503, he became 
a public lecturer on Aristotle, but, at this time, made the 
grand discovery of a Latin Bible in the library — an event 
which shaped the whole course of his future life. 

The sudden death of his friend, Alexis, brought home 
to his heart the lessons of the Bible ; and he gave up his 
intended study of the law, for the study of theology. 
He even entered an Augustine monastery, that he might 
exclusively devote himself to religion. But he found, 
by experience, that no seclusion from the world, nor 
severity of ritual exercises, can give peace to the con- 
science, or purity to the heart. In a word, under divine 
teaching, he began to understand the gospel, and to grasp 
the great life-principle of true reformation — the doctrine 



716 LIVES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



of justification by faith alone, in the sight of God. Filled 
with this, the joy of the Lord became his strength. 

Still Luther was a devout Eomanist. and a monk. 
When het visited Rome, on the business of his order, 
1510, he climbed the steps of St. Peter on his knees. 
But before he left the city, his eyes were opened to the 
hollowness and hypocrisy of the court of Rome, under 
Leo X., and he returned thoroughly disgusted. 

In 1508, he had been made professor of philosophy, 
in the new university of Wittenburg, and in 1512, he 
was appointed professor of theology. In this new sphere, 
all his peculiar powers were unfolded, under the solemn 
conviction that his oath of office bound him to the fear- 
less defence of the holy Scriptures. His intimate ac- 
quaintance with the Greek and Hebrew languages, the 
classics, the fathers, the scholastic philosophy and the- 
ology, with the fame of his eloquence, spread his name 
over Europe, and roused general attention to the new 
light which was breaking on his mind, from the study 
of the Scriptures. 

In 1517, October 31, Luther nailed his 95 propositions 
against the sale of indulgences, to the door of the church 
in Wittenberg. They were pronounced heretical, as 
soon as they appeared. He was attacked by Dr. Eck, 
and others, but stood calm and firm in the love of the 
truth. He was summoned to Rome, but did not obey. 
He was tried by mild appeals from cardinal Cajetan, 
and the Pope's nuncio, Miltitz, and by alluring ofiers 
from the Pope himself, to induce him to recant, but in 
vain. 

In 1520, Luther and his followers were excommuni- 



MARTIN LUTHER. 



717 



cated, and his writings burnt at Kome. He retaliated, 
by burning the Pope's bull at Wittenberg, December 
10, 1520, and by this act dissolved all connection with 
the Pope and Church of Rome. His friends besought 
him not to brave the hierarchy, but he committed him- 
self to the protection of God. In 1521, he went to the 
Diet of Worms, replying to the warnings of Spalatin : 
" If there were as many devils in Worms, as there are 
tiles upon the roofs of the houses, I would go on." 
There, before the imperial assembly, he defended himself 
in a speech of two hours, concluding with the memorable 
words : " Let me then be refuted and convinced by the 
testimony of the Scriptures, or by the clearest argu- 
ments ; otherwise I cannot, and will not, retract ; for it 
is neither safe nor expedient to act against conscience. 
Here I take my stand ; I can do no otherwise, so help 
me, God ! Amen." 

Luther left Worms with the glory of a conqueror. 
The people everywhere received the words of a monk, 
who defied at once the Pope and the clergy, the emperor 
and the princes. His enemies laid plots for his life. He 
was carried off by his friends to the fortress of Wart- 
burg, and there translated the New Testament into 
German. 

In March, 1522, he returned to Wittenberg, and by 
his wisdom and moderation, calmed the disturbances 
there, by CarLstadt. Only when he thought the vital 
truths of the gospel in danger, was he violent ; but un- 
fortunately he regarded his doctrine of consubstantiation 
(the real presence of Christ in the Lord's supper), in 
that light. 



718 



LIVES OF EMINENT CHKISTIANS. 



In 1525, less from inclination than from principle, 
he married the nun Catharine von Bom, who had es- 
caped from her convent. His design was, to restore 
ministers of the gospel to their social rights and duties, 
and destroy monkery. The marriage, however, was a 
happy one. 

After the Confession of Augsburg, 1530, the Eeforma- 
tion spread rapidly. But it required invincible firmness 
to maintain the victory he had won, against the weak- 
ness of friends, and the arts of his foes. He says : " I 
was born to fight with devils and factions. This is the 
reason my books are so boisterous and stormy. Let me 
rather speak the truth with too great severity, than once 
to act the hypocrite, and conceal the truth." 

In 1534, this indefatigable man completed the trans- 
lation of the whole Bible into German. This is his 
immortal work. His other writings fill 60 volumes. 
Few men have labored, prayed, or written so much. 
Few have better served God and man. At length, worn 
out with anxiety and toil, he quietly entered into rest, 
February 18th, 1546, aged 63, but, like the setting sun, 
" leaving the world all light, all on fire, with the potent 
contact of his own spirit." 



JOHN CALYIE". 

This second great reformer of the sixteenth century, 
was the son of a poor but pious cooper named Chuavin, 
of which Calvin is the Latinized form. He was born 
at Noyon, Picardy, in the north of France, July 10th, 



JOHN CALVIN. 



719 



1509. He was indebted to the kindness of friends for 
the advantages of a liberal education at Paris. Through 
Olivetan he received the first germ of the reformed doc- 
trine ] and giving up the Eoman church, in which he 
held a curacy, he turned to the study of law at the 
age of twenty, at the same time acquiring Greek under 
Yolmar, a friend of the new doctrine. 

In 1533 he was obliged to flee from Paris, finding 
refuge with Du Tillot, a canon of Angoulem. Here he 
began to prepare his famous Institutes of the Christian 
Religion, which appeared two years later, and may be 
called the first Protestant system of theology. It was 
dedicated to Francis I., in the hope of checking the per- 
secution of the Protestants in France. But in this 
object it failed. Margaret, sister of Francis I., and 
Queen of Navarre, received him for a time, and at her 
court he found many scholars who afterwards were use- 
ful to his party. His Institutes were published at Basle, 
Switzerland, in 1534, in which he seeks to show that 
the French Protestants were neither Lutherans nor 
Anabaptists, with whom they were confounded by the 
Catholics. His distinguishing doctrines, are divine pre- 
destination, total depravity of man, particular redemp- 
tion, efiicacious grace, and the final perseverance of 
saints. He allows no other sacraments than baptism 
and the Lord's supper ; and in the last, rejects Luther's 
doctrine of consubstantiation, and, after some hesitation, 
adopts the simple typical view of Zwingle. He sweeps 
away all the saints and festivals of Popery, rejects pur- 
gatory, and calls the mass a profanation. In church 
government he established Presbyterian order ; all pas- 
tors are equal; lay elders form part of the consistorj-; 



720 



LIYES OF EMINENT CHRISTIANS. 



and all are elected by the people, who through them are 
represented in the synod or general assembly. Thus 
many elements of primitive freedom were restored ; but 
the union of the church with the State, and the control 
of religion by the magistrates, was the sacrifice of 
church independence, and the source of much persecu- 
tion. Absolute religious liberty, such as is enjoyed in 
the United States, was not understood by Calvin; it 
was regarded as the error of the Anabaptists. 

After visiting Italy awhile, Calvin again returned to 
Paris. But, finding his life was not safe there, he left 
it for Strasburg, in Switzerland ; but in passing through 
Geneva, he was detained there by Farel, and united 
with him in organizing and perfecting the reformation 
in that city, in 1536. 

The application of the strict discipline of the con- 
sistory, in 1538, led to his expulsion for a time, and he 
went on to Strasburg, where he married and settled. 
He labored here with Bucer, and grew daily in the pub- 
lic esteem, till he was earnestly recalled to Geneva. In 
this latter city, which now fully accepted his doctrine 
and discipline, Calvin spent the remainder of his life. 
Though of a slender constitution, and subject to fre- 
quent sickness, he accomplished a prodigious amount of 
work. Among his numerous writings, which fill forty 
volumes, his commentaries on the Scriptures are of sur- 
passing worth. As a clear, logical, profound interpreter, 
perhaps Calvin was never excelled. He died in 1564, 
in his fifty-fifth year. 

To train an able ministry, Calvin founded the acad- 
emy or university of Geneva, over which his friend 
Theodore Beza so long and so ably presided. But, after 



JOHN CALYIN. 



721 



two centuries, it fell under Socinian influence, owing 
chiefly to the union of the church with the State. In 
1832, an evangelical seminary was established on the 
voluntary principle, where the excellent D'Aubigne now 
presides. 

The followers of Calvin in Europe (since 1561) are 
called the Keformed, to distinguish them from the Lu- 
therans. 



46 



HISTORY OF THE TEWS. 



The term Jei':.3. in its widest acceptation, is synony- 
mous with Hehreics, or IsraeUtes ) but in a more restricted 
■sense, it means the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judea. 
as it existed in the times of our Saviour. The history of 
this people previous to that time is contained in the Old 
Testament, and in Josephus. Their great ancestor, 
Abraham, called The Hebrew."' by birth a Chaldean, 
emigrated about 1921 B. C, with his wife Sarah, his 
nephew Lot, and his numerous servants and flocks, into 
the land of Canaan, where he settled. Here Isaac 
his son was born, from whom the Hebrews are de- 
scended. 

Abraham's elder son, Ishmael, whose mother was an 
Egyptian slave, settled in Arabia. Isaac married 
Rebecca, by whom he had two sons, Esau and Jacob, 
the former of whom sold his birthright to the latter. 
Jacob, surnamed Israel, or The Strong,'"' had twelve 
sons, namely : Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, 
Naphthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and 
Benjamin. From these were descended the Twelve 
Tribes of Israel, or the Hebrews. 

One of Jacob's sons, Joseph, came by a singulai 
course of vicissitudes, to be prime minister to one of the 

(722) 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



723 



Pharaoh kings of Egypt, and he settled his brethren in 
a fertile district of that country, where their descendants 
multiplied, till in two centuries they formed a numerous 
colony, subject to the Egyptians, by whom they were 
disliked as aliens, and treated with great harshness. 
Being driven to despair, they found a leader in Moses, 
who, acting under the special direction of God, led them 
out of Egypt, to return to Canaan the possession which 
God had promised to Abraham. The number of Israel- 
ites who left Egypt is stated, in Exodus xii. 37, at six 
hundred thousand men, besides women and children, 
with their flocks and herds of cattle. Being pursued 
by the Egyptians, they crossed the Red sea, whose waters, 
at the command of the Lord, divided and gave them a 
passage on dry land ; but returned at the same moment, 
and overwhelmed their pursuers. (B. C, 1491.) 

On Mount Sinai, Moses received from God the law of 
the Ten Commandments ; and from that time the Israel- 
ites were taught to consider themselves as being under 
the immediate government of the Deity, the Divine 
will being revealed to them by their leader Moses. The 
books of Moses, called Exodus and Leviticus^ contain the 
civil laws and social regulations, as well as the religious 
rites and ceremonies. Other laws, which were succes- 
sively promulgated, are found in the following books of 
Numbers and Deuteronomy^ so as to form a complete 
body of institutions for the Hebrew nation. Of these 
laws, some were temporary directions, suited only to 
the nomadic state in which the Israelites spent many 
years in the wilderness ; others are enactments intended 
for an agricultural people, with settled habitations, and 



724 



HISTORY OF THE JEW'S. 



for the time when they should become possessed of the 
promised land of Canaan. 

Sanitary regulations concerning diet, cleanliness, and 
decency, form an important part of the code, and are 
admirably adapted to the people, country, and climate 
for which they were intended. The political system 
was founded upon equality, without any distinction of 
castes ; and the whole nation was to be one body of 
husbandmen, cultivating their own property. The land 
could not be alienated, in perpetuity ; every fiftieth year 
a jubilee was to take place, when all estates which had 
been alienated were to revert to their original owners, 
and all burdens, debts and other engagements, were to 
cease. 

One tribe, the descendants of Levi, was set apart for 
religious service. They had no tract of country assigned 
to them, but were to dwell by themselves in separate 
tov^rns or villages scattered through the territory of the 
other tribes. Out of this class the officiating priesthood 
was chosen, as well as the scribes and keepers of records, 
the judges, and perhaps also the physicians. They were 
in fact the learned class of the nation ; they read the 
Law to the people, and they attended by rotation on the 
officiating priests in the Tabernacle. One tenth of the 
whole produce of the land possessed by the other tribes 
was assigned to the Levites for their maintenance. 

Each tribe had its own chieftain or prince, and the 
heads or elders of each family constituted the provincial 
assembly. On occasions of great emergency, national 
assemblies were held, probably consisting of delegates 
from each tribe ; and their resolutions were ratified by 
the goneral voice of the people expressed by acclama- 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



725 



tion. This took place repeatedly during their encamp- 
ment in the desert. All who could bear arms, were 
bound to fight in the common defence. The penal laws 
were severe, but considerate; punishments were fixed 
for every offence ; nothing was left to caprice. Parental 
authority was enforced, but the law prevented its abuse ; 
the father had no power of death over his children, and 
he could not disinherit them ; the first-born received 
two portions, and the rest shared equally. 

No Hebrew could be sold, or sell himself as a bondsman 
for life ; he might hire himself for a servant for a period, 
but at the end of six years he became free again, unlotss he 
chose to renew his term for another six years. Foreign 
slaves, however, whether captives or purchased, with their 
own consent might be held in perpetual bondage, both 
they and their children ; but the law provided for their 
protection : they were entitled to rest on the Sabbath ; 
and on the great festivals they partook of the common 
feasts and rejoicings. The condition of a slave among the 
Hebrews was better than that of a slave among the Romans 
and most other nations of antiquity. For further details 
concerning the constitution of the Hebrews, the reader 
is referred to The Pentateuch," especially to the books 
of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. 

The office of high-priest was bestowed upon Aaron, 
the brother of Moses, and his descendants in perpetuity. 
This dignity was quite distinct from that of civil leader 
or judge, though in course of time, some high-priests 
occasionally united both offices in their persons. The 
high-priest was the means of communication between 
God and the people ; he alone could enter the recess of 
the Sanctuary, ^n important cases there w:is a final 



726 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



appeal to him, and lie was also consulted upon great 
national affairs. He had the charge of the Tabernacle 
or Sanctuary, which was the great bond of union among 
the Tribes of Israel.* 

After remaining about a year encamped at the foot 
of Mount Sinai, the Israelites marched toward the land 
of Canaan, and arrived at Kadesh-Barnea, on its southern 
frontier, whence they sent spies to explore the interior. 
After forty days the spies returned, with the informa- 
tion that the country was rich and fertile, but the people 
fierce, numerous, and strong, and likely to make a stout 
resistance. The Israelites, long accustomed to bondage, 
were frightened, and they loudly demanded to be led 
back to Egpyto 

Moses saw that the people were as yet unfit for a war 
of conquest, and, on the authority of God, he gave the 
order for retreat, not, however, for Egypt, but back into 
the peninsula of Sinai, where they encamped, and set- 
tled with their flocks and cattle, after the fashion of the 
Bedouin Arabs. In this wilderness they remained for 
thirty-eight years, the period assigned for their nomade 
life, until the first generation which had come out of 
Egypt had gradually sunk into the grave, and a new 
race had sprung up in the free air of the desert, trained 
to the bold and hardy habits of the wandering Arab, 
but with much of the arts, knowledge, and discipline 
derived from Egypt. 

At the expiration of this time, they again moved for- 
ward to Kadesh ; but Moses perceiving that part of the 

* The whole Hebrew system of Priesthood and Sacrifice was temporary, 
and typical of the one great eternal redemption by Christ. See the Epis- 
tle to the Hebrews. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



727 



country to be mountainous and well defended, led them 
round the eastern shore of the Dead sea, through the 
lands of Edom and Moab. He crossed the Jabbok, 
defeated the Amorites and the king of Bashan, and en 
camped in a plain near the left bank of the Jordan, 
above its influx into the Dead sea, nearly opposite to 
Jericho. 

Here, after defeating the Midianites, and giving the 
conquered country on the w^est of Jordan to the tribes 
of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, he pre- 
pared to lead the Israelites across the river. But before 
this was effected Moses died, after bestowing his last 
advice and blessing on the people, assembled for the 
purpose, and appointing Joshua, a man already tried 
for his bravery and skill, to be his successor. 

Joshua crossed the Jordan and took Jericho, and 
gradually conquered the greater part of Canaan, exter- 
minating or driving away the former inhabitants.* 
The events of this conquest are related in the book of 
Joshua. The country was then divided among the 
twelve tribes, substituting for those of Levi and Joseph, 
the respective descendants of the two sons of the latter, 
Manasseh and Ephraim. 

In this manner the Hebrews became a settled agricul- 
tural people, though often at Avar with their neighbors, 
the Philistines, the Moabites, the Midianites, the Am- 

* This was done under a special, divine commission, and expressly as a 
punishment for inveterate iniquity. Had the Almighty employed the 
pestilence, or famine, or fire fl'om heaven to destroy the wicked inhabitants 
of Canaan, it would have been no more directly his own hand of judgment 
than in employing the arms of Israel, while the moral effect of the latter 
course was even greater : for he assured the Israelites that if they practiced 
the same iniquities, f- ^ir doom should be the same. 



728 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



moniteSj and other tribes. Even the whole land of 
Canaan was not subdued till a much later period, and 
the Cananites remained in strength both in the north and 
south, and repeatedly harassed the Hebrew colonists, as 
we observe in the invasion of Sisera. On these occa- 
sions gallant leaders arose among the Hebrews, styled 
Sophitim in the Scriptures, generally translated judges, 
who assumed a sort of dictatorial authority, and rescued 
the nation from danger : each tribe, however, retained its 
internal form of government, and often engaged in petty 
warfare with its neighbors on its own account. This 
period of the history of the Jews, which is called the 
period of the J udges, and which lasted four centuries, 
may be considered as the heroic age of the nation, 
which still retained a primitive simplicity of manners, 
beautifully portrayed in the tale of Ruth. 

Samuel was the last of the Judges. He drove away 
the Philistines, who had occupied a great part of the 
country ; but the people growing tired of these frequent 
invasions, which they had not discipline or union enough 
among themselves to guard against, wished for a more 
consolidated form of government, and demanded of Samuel 
a king to rule over them. Samuel remonstrated on the 
dangers of despotism ; but the people were determined in 
favor of the change, and Samuel appointed a youth 
named Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, and anointing 
nim, solemnly gave up the authority into his hands. 

The reign of Saul was long and agitated. He quar 
reled with Samuel, and committed various acts of 
tyranny. Samuel then foretold the downfall of the 
house of Saul, and secretly anointed, as his successor, 
a youth of the tribe -^f Judah, called David, who was 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



729 



distinguished for his bravery, as well as for the comeli- 
ness of his person. Saul having discovered that his suc- 
cessor was already appointed, persecuted David, whose 
adventures constitute a narrative of romantic interest 
in the book of Samuel. Saul fell in battle against the 
Philistines, and David succeeded him about 1056 C. 

The reign of David, which lasted forty years, forms a 
splendid epoch in Jewish history. He was victorious 
over all his neighbors. He reduced not only the whole 
of Canaan, but took possession of the country of Edom 
as far as the Red sea, of Moab, of part of Syria, and 
formed alliances with the kings of Hamath and of Tyre. 
His power stretched from the borders of Damascus to 
the Elanitic or eastern branch of the Red sea, and 
from the coast of the Philistines to near the Euphrates. 

David took Jerusalem, which was a town and fort of 
the Jebusites, aCanaanitish tribe till, then unconquered, 
and made it the capital of the kingdom. He died at an 
old age, leaving to his son and successor, Solomon, a 
flourishing and secure kingdom, a full treasury, and a 
well disciplined militia. The reign of Solomon was long 
and peaceful. He raised the famous temple on Mount 
Moriah, on the east side of Jerusalem, and employed 
Tyrian and other foreign artificers for the purpose. 

Solomon was a very wealthy prince. He encouraged 
commerce, and had ships on the Red sea, manned by 
Tyrians, which traded with Ophir. His close alliance 
with the Phoenicians was of great advantage to him. 
He supplied them with corn ; and received timber from 
Lebanon, and other goods, in exchange. The Phoe- 
nician caravans to Arabia and Persia passed tl trough 
his domianons. His own subjects carried on a trade with 



\ 



730 HISTORY OF THE JEVrS. 

Egypt, with which countrj Solomon was on friendly 
terms; and he married a daughter of one of the Pharaohs. 
He is said to have built Tadmor (or Palmyra) and 
Baalbek. But his great expenditure, and the taxes by 
which he supplied his wants, made the people dissatis- 
fied ; whilst his own example encouraged them in their 
licentiousness and effeminacy. He died after a forty 
years' reign ; and his son, Eehoboam, was only able to 
retain possession of the southern part of the country, 
comprising the territory of Judah and Benjamin, which 
then assumed the name of the kingdom of Judah; 
while the other Ten Tribes elected Jeroboam as their 
king, and retained the name of the kingdom of Israel, 
which had, first, Sichem, and afterward Samaria, for its 
capital. This division took place about 975 B. C. 

The kingdom of Israel lasted two hundred and fifty 
years, through a succession of stormy and blood-stained 
reigns ; and was in the end overthrown by the Assyri- 
ans, who carried the inhabitants into captivity, from 
which they never returned — nor has the existence of 
their progeny ever been ascertained. 

The kingdom of Judah lasted above a century and a 
half longer, under the dynasty of the house of David, 
until Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after repeated 
invasions, destroyed Jerusalem, 688 B. C, and carried 
its inhabitants into captivity. Thus the Jewish mon- 
archy terminated after a period of about five centuries 
from its first institution, the stirring events of which pe- 
riod are related in the books of Kings and Chronicles. 
During this time flourished the prophets Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Amos, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



and Habakkuk. Daniel and Ezekiel belong to the 
period of the captivity. 

The captivity of J udah lasted seventy years ; after 
which, Cyrus, having conquered Babylon, allowed the 
Jews to return to their own country. They assembled 
for that purpose to the number of forty-two thousand 
three hundred and sixty, under Zerubbabel, a descend- 
ant of their kings ; and on arriving in J udea were 
joined by those of the common people, and cultivators 
of the soil, who had remained in their native countrj'. 
They began rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple ; and 
their neighbors, the Samaritans, who inhabited part of 
the territory of the former kingdom of Israel, offered 
to join them in the furtherance of the great national 
work — an offer, however, which was rejected by the 
Jews, who looked upon the Samaritans as alien col- 
onists, although the Samaritans themselves asserted 
their descent from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. 

When the Assyrians led the Ten Tribes into cap- 
tivity, they probably took away only the higher classes 
of people, as the Babylonians did with those of Judea, 
and did not depopulate the whole country. Besides 
which, during the course of more than two centuries, 
and particularly after the subversion of the Assyrian 
empire, many exiles, or descendants of exiles, may have 
found their way back to their native land. The fact 
that the Samaritans have preserved the Pentateuch" 
in the original characters, while the Jews, on their re- 
turn from Babylon, adopted the Chaldean form of 
letters, is strongly in favor of their Israelitish descent, 
though they may have been mixed by alliance with 
Assyrian and other colonists. The later Jews, how- 



732 



HISTOEY OF THE JEWS. 



ever, showed a deadly animosity against the Samari- 
tans, whom they insisted on considering as aliens and 
idolaters, although they in reality acknowledged the 
laws of Moses. 

The character of the Jews themselves had undergone 
a considerable change during their Babylonish captivit}^ 
They had become more exclusively attached to their 
country and their laws, and we hear no more of their 
proneness to idolatry after that epoch, as in former 
times. They strictly avoided intermarriage with for- 
eigners, and assumed in every respect that unsocial 
spirit toward all except their own community for which 
they have been so often reproached. Adversity had 
soured their minds, while the expectations of a Messiah, 
who was announced by their prophets, roused the na- 
tional pride. The doctrine of the immortality of the 
soul, which, though always implied, is not explicitly 
mentioned in the Mosaic law, was also tenaciously 
held, especially among the great sect of the Chasadim, 
or Pharisees. 

Under the mild rule of the Persian kings, the J ews 
enjoyed many of the advantages of independence united 
with security. They were allowed the management of 
their internal affairs, and the high-priest was the chief 
magistrate. In this manner they lived quietly and un- 
noticed, but yet thriving, for about two centuries, till 
the year 333 B. C, when Alexander the Great, after gain- 
ing the battle of Issus, appeared in Syria. Jerusalem 
made its submission, and was spared by the conqueror. 

After Alexander's death, Judea fell under the domin- 
ion of the Ptolemies, who showed favor to the Jews, 
and planted colonies of them in their capital Alexan- 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



733 



dria, and at Cyrene. The high-priests continued to 
have the direction of the internal administration of the 
country. From the Ptolemies, Judea passed under the 
'rule of the kings of Syria, under the reign of Antiochus 
the Great, 198 B. C. Antiochus visited Jerusalem, and 
confirmed the privileges which the Jews had enjoyed 
under the Ptolemies ; but under the reign of his second 
son, Antiochus Epiphanes, owing to the intrigues of 
several aspirants to the high-priesthood, an insurrection 
broke out in Jerusalem, which was put down by Antio- 
chus with great slaughter of the inhabitants. 

Antiochus now attempted what no one had attempted 
before him — to force the Jews to renounce their God, 
and worship Jupiter of Olympus, whose statue was 
erected on the altar of the Temple. The Jews generally 
refused. Great cruelties were committed by the officers 
of Antiochus against the recusants in every part of 
Judea, until a spirited resistance, begun by Mattathias, 
and continued under his son Judas, styled Maccabee, 
had the effect of delivering the country from the hateful 
oppression of the Syrians. 

The Maccabees were a family of heroes. After the 
death of Judas and two of his brothers, who fell in 
battle, Jonathan, another brother, continued the strug- 
gle, and having formed an alliance with Kome, was left 
at last in quiet possession of Judea. A revolution in 
the kingdom of Syria added to his strength and impor- 
tance. Alexander Balas, who claimed the crown of 
Syria, offered Jonathan the high-priesthood and exemp- 
tion from all tribute and taxes, besides other advantages 
if he would support him against his rival, Demetrius. 
Jonathan assented, and Balas, having seated himself on 



734 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



tne throne, 150 B. C, presented Jonathan with a purple 
robe, and appointed him Meridarch of Judea, a title 
which, under his successors, was changed to that of 
king. With Jonathan begins the dynasty of the Asmo- 
naeans, or Illustrious," which ruled Judea for about a 
century, and under which the country resumed a degree 
of independence and splendor which it had not experi- 
enced since the reigns of David and Solomon. 

The last of the Asmonaean dynasty were put to death 
by Herod, son of Antipater, the Idumean, who, with the 
support of the Romans, became king of Judea, 38 B. C. 
He died in the same year that Christ was born. With 
Herod, the independence of Judea may be said to have 
expired. His son, Archelaus, was appointed Ethnarch 
of Judea Proper, Idumea, and Samaria; his brother, 
Herod Antipas, had Galilee and Perea; to Herod Philip 
were given the provinces of Tiachonitis, Batanea, and 
Gaulonitis, east of the Jordan ; and another Philip had 
Iturea. 

Thus the dominions of Herod were dismembered 
between four of his sons, who are accordingly called 
Tetrarchs in the New Testament. Archelaus was sum- 
moned to Rom.e, after a reign of nine years, to answer 
certain charges brought against him by his subjects, and 
was banished by Augustus to Yienne, in Gaul. Judea 
thus became a Roman province, or rather a district 
dependent on the great province or prefecture of Syria, 
though administered by a special governor, a man 
usually of the Equestrian order. This is the state to 
which Judea was reduced in the time of our Saviour. 
The Jews, however, continued to enjoy the exercise of 
their religious and municipal liberties. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



735 



Under the reign of Claudius^ Herod Agrippa, grandson 
of Herod the Great, who had been already appointed by 
Caligula ethnarch of Galilee, was appointed king of Judea 
and all the former dominions of his grandfather, but he 
died three years after, at Csesarea, in Palestine, A. D. 44. 
This is the Herod mentioned in chapter xii. of the Acts. 
His son, called likewise Herod Agrippa, was then a 
minor, and Judea relapsed into a Eoman province. In 
A. D. 53, Claudius gave to Herod Agrippa the provinces 
east of the Jordan, which had belonged to Phili23 the 
Tetrarch, and Nero added to them part of Galilee. But 
Judea and Samaria continued to be administered by 
Roman procurators. 

Agrippa, however, was entrusted by the emperor with 
the superintendence of the Temple, and the right of 
appointing and deposing the high-priest at Jerusalem ; 
and he occasionally resided in that city, while the 
Roman governor generally resided at Cassarea. This 
second Herod Agrippa is the one mentioned in Acts xxv., 
xxvi., there styled King Agrippa, whom St. Paul ad- 
dressed in so impressive a manner in his defence. 
Agrippa was present at the final catastrophe at Jeru- 
salem. 

A succession of more than usually rapacious Roman 
governors, Felix, Albinus, and Florus, had driven the 
Jews to the verge of despair. A tumult, which broke 
out at CcBsarea, between the Greeks and the Jews, fol- 
lowed by fresh exactions and cruelties of Florus, who 
seemed to wish to drive the people into insurrection, 
led the way to an open revolt against the Romans 
Agrippa, who, with his sister Berenice, happened to be 
at Jerusalem, remonstrated with the people on the rash- 

40 



736 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



ness of the attempt, but in vain, and he withdrew to his 
own dominions. A party called the Zealots, or fanatics, 
now obtained the ascendancy over the minds of the 
people, and the feeble Koman garrison wa's overpowered 
and massacred. At the same time the Greeks of 
Csesarea massacred all the Jews in that city, and the 
Roman governor. Floras, took no notice of the transac- 
tion. 

Other cities of Palestine and Syria followed the ex- 
ample of Caesarea by a wholesale butchery of the Jews. 
The Jews retaliated in those towns of Palestine where 
they were the majority, by murdering the Syrians and 
Greeks. Cestius Gallus, the Prefect of Syria, who had 
winked at the exactions of Florus, now advanced against 
Jerusalem with one legion and many auxiliaries, but he 
was obliged to retire, and was completely defeated by 
the insurgents in his retreat, with the loss of nearly six 
thousand men. The revolt now became general through- 
out Judea and Galilee. 

Nero, who received the news in Achaia, sent for Ves- 
pasian, an officer of tried abilities, and gave him the 
command of Syria, A. D. 66-7. Vespasian assembled 
his forces at Ptolemais, where he was joined by Agrippa, 
and by his own son Titu^. His army, including auxili- 
aries, amounted to sixty thousand men. For one year 
he employed himself in scouring the country, and re- 
ducing the strongholds of the Jews. In the following 
year, A. D. 68, he was advancing to form the siege of 
Jerusalem, when he received the news of Nero's death, 
followed by the rapid succession of Galba, Otho, and 
Vitellius. Vespasian kept his troops ready for a more 
important enterprise than the taking of Jerusalem. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



737 



That city had, in consequence, a respite of nearly two 
years, during which, however, the inhabitants destroyed 
each other through intestine factions. At last Yespasian 
was proclaimed emperor, and having defeated Yitellius 
and entered Kome, he sent his son Titus to complete the 
subjugation of Palestine. 

The regular siege began in the spring of A. D. 70, and 
it lasted till the following September, when Jerusalem 
was finally taken and totally destroyed, with its Temple : 
the inhabitants were killed or sold as slaves. The fear- 
ful events of that siege are narrated by Josephus. The 
Arch of Titus at Rome is a standing record of that con- 
quest. The landed property of the country was« put up 
to sale. Still the Jewish population was by no means 
extirpated from the country, and we find them rising in 
vast numbers in the reign of Hadrian, and again engag- 
ing the Eoman legions, commanded by Severus. They 
were, however, overpowered with immense slaughter, 
and the second desolation of Judea took place. 

Hadrian issued an edict forbidding circumcision, the 
reading of the Mosaic law, and the observance of the 
Sabbath. 

The dispersion of the Jews over the world, which is 
commonly dated from the destruction of Jerusalem, had 
in reality begun long before. The Ptolemies had trans- 
planted large colonies of them into Egypt, Cyrene, 
and Cyprus; and Antiochus the Great settled great 
numbers in the towns of Asia. In the time of Cicero 
there was a wealthy Jewish community in Italy. A 
passage of Philo, in his letter to Agrippa, enumerates 
the countries in which the Jews were settled in the time 
of Caligula : Egypt, Syria, Pamphylia, Cilicia, the great- 

47 



738 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



est part of Asia Minor as far as Bithynia, the shores of 
the Euxine, Macedonia, Thessaly, ^tolia, Attica, the 
Peloponnesus, Cyprus, and Crete, besides the countries 
beyond the Euphrates ; for at the end of the Babylonish 
captivity, many Jews voluntarily remained in Mesopo- 
tamia, where they continued to form for several years a 
considerable community alternately under the Parthian 
and Roman dominion. After the final destruction of 
Jerusalem, the Mesopotamian Jews acknowledged an 
hereditary chief, who was called The Prince of the Cap- 
tivity ;" while the western Jews, who were scattered all 
over the Roman empire, had their spiritual head in the 
Patriarch of Tiberias. The civil condition of the Jews 
throughout the Roman empire, has been not unaptly 
compared with that of the Greeks under the Turks. 

Under the Antonines and the succeeding emperors, the 
harsh provisions of the edict of Hadrian were either re- 
voked or allowed to lie dormant, and the Jews were 
left to follow their old usages and rites, being only pro- 
hibited from making proselytes. New synagogues were 
erected by them, and schools opened in the principal 
cities of the empire. The Jews, by means of their com- 
mercial industry, acquired considerable wealth ; many 
of them obtained the rank of Roman citizens, and at the 
same time exemption from military service. During 
this period of peace. Rabbi Jehuda, one of the Patri- 
archs of Tiberias, composed the Mischna, or code of 
traditional law, in which he embodied all the authorized 
interpretations of the Mosaic law, the decisions of the 
learned, and the precedents of the courts or schools. 
At a later period. Rabbi Ascha, a learned Mesopotamian 
Jew, with the assistance of his disciples, compiled the 



HISTOEY OF THE JEWS. 



739 



*^^Gemara/' which, with the " Mischna/' forms the 
" Babylonian Talmud," a work in which the most ab- 
surd traditions are mixed up with wise precepts, profound 
allegories, and pleasing moral apologues. 

Constantine made several laws concerning the Jews : 
one forbidding them to endanger the lives of Christian 
converts ; another prohibiting Christians from embracing 
Judaism ; and a third prohibiting Jews from possessing 
Christian slaves. Under his successor Constantius, an 
insurrection which broke out in Judea, and another 
tumult at Alexandria, in which the Jews were deeply- 
implicated, gave occasion to fresh enactments against 
them. They were heavily taxed, were forbidden to 
marry Christian women, and the edict of Hadrian, which 
prohibited their approaching near Jerusalem, was for- 
mally renewed. 

J ulian favored the Jews, and proposed to restore their 
Temple. Some extraordinary appearances, which are 
related by Ammianus Marcellinus, frightened the work- 
men who were employed in the restoration, and the 
death of Julian put an end to the design. Under the 
following emperors the Jews were protected by the 
state, though often annoyed by the intemperate zeal of 
the more violent Christian churchmen. 

Laws were passed by Theodosius and confirmed by 
Arcadius and Honorius, recognizing the power of the 
Jewish patriarch to punish the refractory members of 
their own community, and the prefects were forbidden 
from interfering with his judicial authority. In disputes 
w^ith the Christians, both parties appeared before the 
ordinary tribunals. Under Theodosius II., the Jews 
were forbidden from publicly celebrating certain festivals 



740 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



wliich occasioned collisions between them and the Chris- 
tians. 

Theodoric and the other Gothic kings of Italy, pro- 
tected the Jews. During the frequent wars and inva- 
sions of that period, the Jews had the slave-trade of 
Europe in great measure in their hands ; and several 
councils, and Pope Gregory I., interfered to prevent 
their abusing the power which they had thus acquired 
over the persons of Christians. That wise and humane 
pope, in his pastoral letters, bewails and denounces this 
traffic, which was carried on in Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, 
and France ; he directs the bishops to interfere so as to 
prevent Jews from retaining Christians; slaves, who 
had been long in possession of Jewish landed proprie- 
tors, should be considered as " villains" attached to the 
soil, and should not be transplanted or sold away. He 
also entreated the Frankish kings to banish the traffic 
in slaves from their dominions. 

Justinian was one of the first who enacted really op- 
pressive and intolerant laws against the Jews. In liti- 
gations between Christians and Jews, or between Chris- 
tians only, their testimony was admitted ; but that of 
a Samaritan or a Manichsean, was of no value. By 
another law, all unbelievers, heathens, Jews, and 
Samaritans, could neither be judges nor prefects, nor fill 
any other dignity in the State. Justinian also enacted, 
that in mixed marriages between Jews and Christians, 
the chief authority over the children should rest with 
the Christian parent. A Jew parent could not disin- 
lierit his Christian child. But the Samaritans were 
treated more harshly ; they were entirely deprived of 
the right of bequeathing or c :^nveying their property to 



HISTOEY OF THE JEWS. 



741 



unbelievers. Those of their children who embraced 
Christianity inherited to the exclusion of the rest. 
Samaritans could not sue in courts of law. Their syna- 
gogues were ordered to be destroyed. 

By a subsequent edict, and on the humane interposi- 
tion of Sergius, Bishop of Caesarea, J ustinian somewhat 
mitigated the rigor of these enactments against the 
Samaritans j but his son, Justin, again enforced the 
original statutes against them. The effect of this perse- 
cution seems to have been to extinguish gradually that 
once flourishing community, the members of which 
probably embraced Christianity for the preservation of 
their property. In subsequent history, the Samaritans 
no longer appear as a separate people. In the 17th 
century, however, a small community of them was dis- 
covered in the neighborhood of their holy Mount Geri- 
zim, who still possessed the law in the old Samaritan 
character, and their descendants still exist to this day. 

The Jews, however, were too strong to be annihilated, 
like the Samaritans, by imperial edicts : they had even 
the power of revenge. When Chosroes II. invaded 
Syria, the Jews of Palestine rose to join the Persians, 
with whom they entered Jerusalem, then a Christian 
city, and perpetrated a dreadful slaughter of the Chris- 
tian inhabitants. They are said to have purchased at 
a cheap price the captives of their allies, the Persians, 
for the sake of murdering them. The victories of 
Heraclius, however, soon put an end to their momentary 
triumph. 

The rise of Mohammedanism brought an unfavorable 
change to the eastern Jews. Mohammed endeavored 
at first to win them over, but the Jews would not 



742 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



acknowledge a descendant of Hagar, the bondwoman, 
as the greatest of prophets; and Mohammed treated 
them without mercy in Arabia, where they were at that 
time numerous. But under the Caliphs, his successors, 
they were protected on the easy terms of paying tribute ; 
and as they made no resistance, they experienced not 
only protection but even encouragement from their new 
masters, whom they followed through their tide of con- 
quest along the coast of Northern Africa. They also 
contributed materially to the triumph of the Crescent 
in the Spanish peninsula. 

In Spain, under the Gothic kings, the Jews experi- 
enced the first of those sweeping proscriptions which 
they were doomed to suffer in every country in Christian 
Europe. A series of oppressive laws were passed against 
them under the significant title of Statutes against 
Jewish wickedness, and for the general extirpation of 
Jewish errors." At last, king Sisebut (Sigebert) com- 
manded them either to forsake their religion, or to leave 
the country. Many fied, others were thrown into prison, 
and ninety thousand are said to have received baptism. 

The Fourth Council of Toledo mitigated the rigor of 
the laws against the Jews by declaring, ^'that men 
ought not to be compelled to believe by force, although 
all who had once embraced the faith must be constrained 
to adhere to it." But the Eighth Council of Toledo, 
A. D. 653, re-enforced the former statutes against the 
Jews ; and following councils enacted more rigorous laws. 
One hundred lashes on the naked body, chains, mutila- 
tion, banishment, and confiscation, were the punishment 
of those who observed Jewish practices and rites. All 
converted Jews were put under the strictest surveillance 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



743 



The acts of the Twelfth Council of Toledo concerning 
the Jews, are a complete model of ecclesiastical intoler- 
ance and refinement in persecution. Under king Egica, 
while the Saracens were spreading along the shore of 
Africa, opposite to Spain, a general conspiracy of the 
Jews- was reported ; and another council passed a decree 
to disperse the whole race as slaves, confiscate their 
property, and seize all their children, under seventeen 
years of age, to be brought up as Christians. Many 
escaped to return with the Saracen invaders ; and the 
munificence of the Mohammedan princes toward them 
indicates that by their knowledge of the country the 
Jews had been highly instrumental in advancing the 
conquest. 

In Moorish Spain, the Jews had really a golden age, 
which lasted for centuries. There they cultivated science 
and learning : and the names of Benjamin of Tudela, 
Isaac of Cordova, Hasdar, the confidant of Abdarrahman, 
and a host of others, attest their proficiency. Rodriguez 
de Castro and Vicente Ximino, give notices of the 
writings of the Spanish Jews. At the same time they 
were thriving in the East under the Caliphs of Bagdad, 
whose favor they enjoyed, at least until the end of the 
10 th century. 

Charlemagne protected the Jews like his other sub- 
jects ; they filled municipal offices ; they were physicians 
and bankers; and Isaac, a Jew, was chosen by that 
emperor as his ambassador to Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph 
of Bagdad, a mission which was considered of the great- 
est importance at the time. The Jews enjoyed the same 
or even greater influence under Louis le Debonnaire 



744 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



and Charles the Bold ; but toward the end of the latter 
reign, the clergy began afresh to show their hostility. 

The Council of Meaux re-enacted the exclusion of 
Jews from all civil offices ; but it was under the third 
or Capet dynasty that the Jews suffered real persecution 
in France. Philippe Auguste, pressed by the wants of 
an empty exchequer, and perhaps also by the reports of 
fanatics, who charged the Jews with all sorts of crimes, 
banished, A. D. 1180, all the Jews from his dominions, 
confiscated their property, and declared all debts due to 
them to be annulled. About twenty years afterward, 
the Jews were allowed to re-enter France, y>diich they 
did in great numbers. This was the beginning of a series 
of alternate proscriptions and relaxations, continued 
under the following reigns for about two centuries, until 
they were finally expelled under Charles YI. 

In Germany, about the same age, they suffered under 
sudden bursts of popular fanaticism. They v/ere mas- 
sacred at the cry of Hep ! Hep !" the initials of the 
w^ords, Hierosolyma est perdita." St. Bernard and 
Pope Eugenius III. loudly reprobated these atrocities. 
In Italy, the Jews seemed to have enjoyed greater, 
though not always uninterrupted security ; but their 
safest asylum w^as Poland, w^here Casimir the Great 
allowed them considerable privileges, and where they 
formed the only middle order between the nobles and 
the serfs. It was in Spain and Portugal, after the ex- 
pulsion of the Moors, that the proscription of the Jews 
was most ^w^eeping and effectual. The regular In- 
quisition, established under Ferdinand and Isabella, 
undertook the task of punishing all relapsed converts. 
As for the unconverted Jews, the edict of 1492, made 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



745 



at the instigation of the inquisitor Torquemada, ban- 
ished them all from the kingdom. The number of 
Jews thus expelled from Spain has been vaguely esti 
mated at half a million, and even eight hundred thou 
sand. They were allowed to carry away or sell only 
their movables. Few of them consented to embrace 
Christianity in order to remain. Soon afterward they 
were driven away from Portugal also, with circum- 
stances of still greater barbarity. Many perished, and 
others took refuge on the African coast. The expulsion 
of the Jews, and that of the Moors, or Moriscoes, 
drained Spain of its most useful subjects. 

Throughout the dominions of the Sultan the Jews 
were allowed to settle and follow their trades, though 
looked upon with scorn by the Osmanlees. In the 
regencies of Barbary they settled- likewise in great 
numbers. 

During the eighteentii century a milder spirit of 
toleration manifested itself toward the Jews in several 
.countries of Europe. Maria Theresa and Joseph I. 
gave them equal rights, and subjected them to the same 
laws as the Christians. Frederick, called the Great, 
was not so liberal toward them, for he laid them under 
peculiar restrictions and disqualifications. In Holland 
they have long formed a highly flourishing, honorable, 
and intelligent community. 

Napoleon, in 1806, assembled a Sanhedrin. at Paris, 
and submitted to them twelve questions concerning the 
moral and social doctrines and discipline of the Jews. 
Their answers being found satisfactory, an ordinance 
was issued oivino; the Jews a reofular or^^anization 
throughout France, and placing them on the same foot- 



746 



HISTORY OF THE JET7S. 



ing as other Frenclimen. This system has remained 
unaltered. The King of Prussia, and other German 
powers, have followed the example. In Eussia the 
Jews are subject to many restrictions, especially the 
Eabbis. 

The Jews in France are reckoned at fifty thousand ; 
in Italy, thirty-six thousand ; in the Austrian empire, 
five hundred and twenty thousand; in Prussia, one 
hundred and thirty-five thousand ; in the rest of Ger- 
many, one hundred and thirty-eight thousand ; in Hol- 
land and Belgium, eighty thousand ; in Great Britain, 
thirty thousand ; in Russia and Poland, six hundred 
and fifty-eight thousand ; in the Turkish dominions they 
have been vaguely estimated at eight hundred thousand; 
in Persia they are few and oppressed; there are com- 
munities of them at Bokhara and other parts of Tar- 
tary, in India, and even in China. In the United States 
they are reckoned at about fifty thousand. 

It does not appear at what time the Jews found their 
way to England, but they were settled there in the 
Saxon period, and even as early as A. D. 650. From the 
time of the Conquest, the Jews in England rapidly in- 
creased in numbers. Under the three first Norman 
kings they lived undisturbed, as we are informed, and 
apparently acquired great wealth. But under Stephen 
and his successors they sufiered grievously from the 
rapacity of the kings, and the bigoted intolerance of 
the people. The cruel persecutions they experienced 
from all persons, both lay and ecclesiastical, poor and 
rich, are fully attested, not only by their own writers, 
but by the evidence of their enemies. 

Finally, in the reign of Edward I., about A. D. 1290, 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



747 



all the Jews were banished from the kingdom. Their 
numbers at that time are conjectured (but on what 
grounds we are not aware) to have been between fifteen 
and sixteen thousand. It was not till after the Resto- 
ration, A. D. 1660, that the Jews again settled in Eng- 
land; and though, under the Protectorate, they had 
entered into negotiations with Cromwell to obtain per- 
mission to enter the island, nothing seems to have been 
done in the matter ; and those who have investigated 
the subject, bring forward no proof of leave being for- 
mally granted them to return. After the Restoration, 
it seems probable that they came in gradually, without 
either permission or opposition ; and since that time 
foreign Jews have been on the same footing as other 
aliens with respect to entering that country. In the 
year 1753, an act was passed to enable foreign Jews to 
be naturalized without taking the sacrament ; but the 
act was repealed in the following session, under the in- 
fluence of popular feeling, which was most strongly 
opposed to the measure of 1753. Since then they have 
been unmolested ; and very recently laws have been 
passed granting them civil rights, and enabling them 
even to take seats in Parliament without the necessity 
of taking an oath forbidden by their law. 

In the United States, the Jews enjoy the same 
rights as other citizens, and their number is rapidly 
increasing. 

"There is," says James Douglas, Esq., ^^one good omen 
for the future success of Christianity, and its universal 
diffusion, in the present existence of the Jews through-^ 
out every climate under heaven. When the whole 



748 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



world, with the exception of Judea, had lost the worship 
of the one only God, there seemed little prospect, in 
human probability, of that pure worship being restored 
in all the countries of the earth, and less, that it would 
be restored by Jews, whose very dispensation was con- 
fined to the land of Judea ; but so it is, the unity of the 
Deity has become, in one sense, universally recognized, 
by the Jews being universally dispersed ; and in coun- 
tries in which Christianity has failed to establish itself, 
the J ews remain perpetual witnesses of the unity of the 
Godhead. That the knowledge of the true God should, 
in this way, be scattered and sown over the whole earth, 
like seed scattered by the winds, gives hope that, in 
after ages, there will be a better seed time, and a more 
abundant harvest; since Christianity, by the natural 
order of events, and its superiority of advanced civiliza- 
tion, will naturally spread over the world. Its supre- 
macy in knowledge, its improvements in life, and its 
opinions in religion, are alike adapted to a higher state 
of civilization. 

" It is impossible that this pre-eminence which Europe 
has attained, can for ever remain pent up by those 
mutual jealousies which have retarded the development 
of the forces of its States ; and the time must come when 
the torrent which has been so long resisted will burst 
with accumulated strength, and precipitate itself over all 
the adjoining countries. Europe, even in those States 
where the government is worse, and information at the 
lowest ebb, is wonderfully increasing in population, and 
in knowledge, in the arts of war and of peace, in agri- 
culture and in commerce ; and the new States of America 
are entering upon a fresh career of advancement, and. 



HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 



749 



while they are doubling their own resources in the 
rapidity of their progress, they are about to communi- 
cate a new impulse to European enterprise. 

The reverse is the prospect of the countries that are 
not Christian ; instead of hope and enterprise, there are 
apathy and inertness, and instead of growth, there is a 
slow but certain decay. In the Mahometan States, so- 
ciexy is . turned backward, and retracing its steps ; vil- 
lages are brought under the plough, and the field that 
was once cultivated is abandoned to the wandering 
herdsmen, and the tent is pitched beside the broken 
pillars of the palace. Of philosophers there are only to 
be found the tombs, and whatever learning the Mos- 
lems had, is retained, not in schools, but in libraries. It 
is Christian States alone that suspend the fate of the 
Mahometan kingdoms, p^Bd the Turks subsist but at the 
mercy of those wHom tney nave so often conquered. 
But no obstacle can long resist which is ever worn away 
by the current, and brief must the duration of those 
powers be, which oppose themselves to the stream of 
events, and rest only on foundations which are fast 
mouldering into dust. Weak are the allies of that gov- 
ernment which places its reliance in ignorance and 
inactivity, to oppose the changes of opinion and desire 
of improvement in men's minds already half emanci- 
pated, and who feel their fetters worn off and falling 
away. 

" It would also be extremely desirable that some 
learned men should devote their attention to exhibit to 
the Jews, under every shape, the futility of their rabbini- 
cal traditions and writings, and the insuperable difficulties 
under which the Mosaic dispensation labors, unless it 



750 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

be acknowledged that it is fulfilled and terminated in 
Christianity. If the Jews can once be brought to reflect, 
it is impossible but they must feel how untenable is their 
adherence to the law of Moses — a dispensation which 
was strictly local, and which their dispersion among the 
Gentiles has itself abrogated and rendered of none 
effect." 



THE END. 



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